We Will Become Silhouettes
by Mrs.Cohen
Summary: Summer and her longtime boyfriend, Matt, are off to hit the ski slopes, but what happens when her ski instructor, Seth Cohen, takes her by surprise? And what secret does he have hidden? AU SS.
1. Chapter 1

**Summer and her longtime boyfriend, Matt, are off to hit the ski slopes, but what happens when her ski instructor, Seth Cohen, takes her by surprise? And what secret does he have hidden? AU S/S.**

**Hey! So I have decided to start a new story that I am excited about. It is AU and obviously S/S- as it said in the story description. I hope that this story can be and stay original so if you have anything that you would like to suggest, I would love to hear it. Flashbacks are in italics! **

**Disclaimer: Zip.**

**Chapter 1**

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Summer Robert's yelled to her boyfriend of seven years, Matt, as she stood in the hallway of their home, nestled up in a quiet, but expensive Los Feliz neighborhood.

Matt poked his head down over the staircase and laughed and told her, "one minute!"

"No! Game Creek Chalet is calling!"

Summer and Matt were heading to the airport for their first ever ski trip together. Up in the small town on Vail, Colorado, stood Game Creek Chalet- their soon to be home for three weeks. They were both taking that amount of time off from work for they had not been on a vacation together for about two years.

"I know it is, but we have to get to the airport first!"

"And were going to be late if you don't get your ass down here!"

"Sum, calm down. Everything is going to be fine! The plane doesn't take off for like four hours!"

Summer grunted and crossed her arms across her chest and sat down on one of the many bags of luggage that were set in the hallway, crossing her legs in a fashion that she only did when she was being impatient.

She looked into the family room and saw their Christmas tree decked out in lights and ornaments. Ornaments from their childhoods, others from past trips, and others from when they were out shopping together. She smiled as she looked at one imparticular.

"_Sweetie, come on! We don't want to be late!"_

_Five-year-old Summer ran down the decorated staircase of her families home. She was going to _

_see Santa at the mall today. Her tiny hands grasping the thoroughly thought out six page list that she planned on giving Santa- just in case he forgot anything that she wanted. _

"_Okay, lets go!" She smiled up at her dad and he smiled back seeing her toothless grin._

_They walked out the glass front door and jumped into her father's Mercedes SL500 that would _

_take them to the mall. _

_Summer hopped out of the car and grasped her father's hand as he led them to where they needed to go. _

_They got into the line and waited until it was finally her turn. She looked at her dad for reassurance and he nodded at her as she ran up and pushed herself up on Santa's lap, telling him each thing that she wanted for Christmas that year and how much of a good girl she had been._

_She waved for her father to come up for the picture that would be taken with Santa. Neil Roberts walked over after the picture was taken and requested that it be put on an ornament- one that they could color together when they got home._

Summer remembered that day like it was yesterday. She got up an walked over to it, fingering the water color paint that adorned it.

She turned around after hearing footsteps coming down the stairs and smiled.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Good."

Matt placed two fingers under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. He carefully placed his lips upon hers and pulled back.

"Lets go!"

"Yep."

They picked up their bags and placed them in the car. Summer dashed around the house once more to make sure nothing was forgotten. Just as she was about to lock the door, she went over and turned on the Christmas tree lights and smiled.

Not only would this be their first ski trip together, it would also be their first Christmas out of their home.

"Ah! I'm so excited!" Summer squealed as Matt pulled out of the driveway.

---

The cold wind of Vail swept through Seth Cohen's dark brown hair as he made his way down the cobblestone and lamp post decorated street. He tied his scarf around his neck tighter and buttoned the remaining buttons on his coat.

Chrismukkah. Seth's favorite time of year was sweeping through Vail. He smiled just thinking about it. Although it had been seven years since he had been back to Newport, or even talked to his family for that matter, nothing could get in the way of celebrating.

He was currently on his way to work- something that he was quite fond of. He never thought that he would be the skiing type, but when he trekked out to Colorado at the age of nineteen, he had surprised himself at how quickly he took it up. He had met many new people and they became the greatest friends he had ever had. During highschool, Seth had been more the loner type- preferring comic books to water polo and sailing to jet skiing. He had also never fully been accepted by his classmates, making his move to Colorado one hundred times easier.

He pulled open the door to the extravagant Game Creek Chalet, showing his ID to the woman at the front desk and made his way to the back room.

Seth opened his locker and shoved his backpack, coat, scarf, and gloves into it and walked over to the bulletin board to see who he would have a lesson with today. Jeffery Scott. _'Again? This is the third day in a row!' he thought to himself. _He looked down the list, going farther down into the week and noticed a name that he had never seen. Friday: Summer Roberts. '_Should be interesting,' he thought again, 'Summer is defiantly not a winter-y name.' He _grabbed his ski's and making his way outside.

"Cohen, hey!"

He turned around instinctively even before hearing the voice.

"Emily!" He smiled as he hugged her.

"How it been?"

"Its been good. How was your vacation?"

"It was good. But, surprisingly, I realized that I don't miss it here." Emily said, smiling.

"Well, I am just so glad to see how much I mean to you."

"I'm kidding," she paused, "or am I?"

"You'll regret saying that some day!" He shouted playfully over his shoulder as they both went

different ways to being their seemingly endless days of teaching.

---

"Flight 5175. Last call for flight 5175," the announcer announced to the terminal.

"Yeah, yeah we're coming," Summer mumbled.

There had been a mix up at the security check with Summer and her bags. She could have sworn that she was aloud to bring on three carry-ons, but they had limited it to only two. She continued arguing with the security people while Matt took her bags and condensed the three to two, having to throw away different things that had probably been in her purse for well over a year.

She mumbled something incoherent as she gave the young man her ticket and began to board.

The plane ride had gone relatively fast. Summer had her iPod, some weekly tabloid magazines, and travel brochures of Came Creek Chalet. She read up on all the things to do but what she was most excited about her private ski lesson.

She took out her ear-plugs and looked out of the small rounded window and saw the snow cap mountains come into view. She reached over and shook Matt's arm as he had finally fallen asleep into a slumber.

"Matt, look!"

He slowly opened his eyes to see Summer's excited face.

"You look like a little kid on Christmas morning!" He said, smiling at her.

"I feel like it. Look out."

"That could be us out there on those mountains!"

Summer laughed and said, "I know!"

"Your going to get so good after this ski lesson. We may even be able to move to the 'black'

slopes."

"You wish."

"You wish too!"

"Whatev," Summer thought for a minute. " Wait, are the black diamonds on the black slopes?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh okay. Then I might want to do those."

Matt laughed again. "What changed your mind?"

"Remember two years ago when we watched the winter Olympics and we saw those skiers and snow boarders?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah. That's why. Actually, if I want to be able to go on those, I may need more than one ski lesson. Hope my ski instructor can put up with me that long."

"Okay. We can set up some more lessons when we get there."

"Okay, but go back to sleep. We will be there soon," Summer ordered him. "That way, when we get there, we can go right out!"

"Sounds like a plan."

---

The plane started to descend about thirty minutes after Summer had told Matt to go back to sleep.

They quickly got off the plane and made it to baggage claim not wasting a single minute. Matt walked over to the car rentals and got the keys to the car while Summer got their numerous bags off of the carousel.

"Ready?" Matt asked.

"Yeah."

"Here, I got a cart for the bags."

Summer smiled and took his hand as they made their way out the car.

---

"Emily, wait up!"

"Hey. How was the lesson today?"

"Not to shabby. Although, this is the guys third day in a row for a lesson and he's not getting any better."

"Bummer."

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Good. Ross is making some good strides. It's good to see when someone gets better."

"Yeah, it is. How old is he?"

"Four."

Seth laughed. "Yeah, if only Jeremy could make some strides. Hey! Maybe Ross could teach him a thing or two."

"You know, he probably could. Anyways, want to grab some lunch?"

"Sure. So do you have anyone knew this week?"

"Nope. All regulars. You?"

"Yeah, thankfully. Summer Roberts. First timer from what I can tell."

"Should be fun."

"Yeah, I hope. I need some fun around here."

"Don't we all."

Little did Seth Cohen know, fun would be coming in a small package.

**... and so my new story begins! **

**I am so excited! Sorry that this chapter was relatively short, but I thought that it set up some good storylines for the future. Also, I felt like that conversation between Summer andMatt on the airplane was a little awkward, but I hope everyone liked it.**

**What to expect in the upcoming chapters:**

**-Seth and Summer meet for the first time.**

**-What will Seth reveal to Summer that he has never told anyone? And how will this make her see him in a new light?**

**-Summer tells Seth about her life and the different things that she has struggled through**

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the review, everyone! Hope you like this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: What's the point of this again? Oh, to make us all depressed that we own _absolutely_ _nothing._**

**Chapter 2**

Summer and Matt arrived around eight p.m. and made their way to the check-in counter at Game Creek Chalet. They both showered and got dressed and made their way up to a small restaurant that seemed to be buried into the side of the mountain, clumps of snow dropping onto the doorstop every so often.

"This place is so cute!" Summer squealed.

"I know, the concierge said that it was one of the best restaurants up here, so hopefully it will be good."

Summer kissed him and said a small thank you with her eyes.

She was so excited to be here with him and just be together in the moment. They hadn't really spent time alone in such a long time that Summer couldn't even remember when that was.

They walked over and out onto the secluded balcony that was vacant due to the freezing

temperatures and that looked out over the mountains, the sun just setting giving off beautiful pinks, oranges, and purples. Summer looked around at how vast the mountains were and thought about the next day- her first ski lesson.

---

It was a chilly Friday morning in Aspen and Summer and Matt had just gotten up and were making their way to get some breakfast at a small café that was in the small town of Aspen before Summer's lesson. They arrived at the bus stop and were quickly dropped off right in front of it.

"I am so not looking forward for today," Summer complained as the waiter brought them their coffee.

"Sum, your going to be fine."

"I have only skied like for a total of two hours in my whole life! I don't even properly know how to get on a ski lift!"

"Everything is going to be okay. You are going to be so good when you are done today."

"I know. I hope my instructor is hot," Summer joked to an open mouthed Matt. "Kidding."

Matt laughed sarcastically as Summer let a smile form on her face.

---

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Who is it?" Seth yelled to the person on the other side of the door.

Seth house was a small cottage located up in the mountains and always completely decked out for Chrismukkah all year round. On the railing that lined the steps that lead to his dark green front door, was pine rope twisted around the bars and Christmas lights that adorned them. At night, the lights would light the walkway and illuminate the crisp, dark night sky.

Ryan had asked him plenty of times why he had Christmas lights up all year. He answered, each time in Seth Cohen fashion with, "you can never be too prepared for an early Chrismukkah and since there is snow here for about ten out of the twelve months, it only seems appropriate to honor the snow. And in my book, the only way to honor snow is to have up lights."

"Ryan!" he yelled loud enough for Seth to hear him.

"Hey, dude. What's up?" Seth asked as he opened the door.

"Nothing just seeing what time you were planning on going into work today."

"I was actually just leaving now. Just need to grab my coat and gloves."

Ryan walked into Seth's apartment and looked around. When Ryan had first met Seth, they were both being trained to be ski instructors. Seth had told him that he had just made his way out to Colorado the previous week and just needed some time away from home. Who knew that "some time" would turn into more than seven years.

"You got a new TV," Ryan noticed and asked Seth as he walked into the living room.

"Yeah, last week. I thought I deserved an upgrade," Seth said. "Oh! I totally forgot to tell you! I just got the new Playstation 4! I know how much you like to come over here and play."

"Yeah, we should do that sometime."

"We sure should, buddy. So, who's on your schedule for today?"

"Newcomer, actually. Marissa Cooper. You?"

"Summer Roberts, newcomer too. Should be fun."

"Cool. So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah."

And with that, they both left the house.

---

"Emmmmily," Seth said as he drew out her name while placing one finger on her shoulder.

"Seeeeeth," she said, mimicking him and turning around to look at him.

"After work today do you want to grab some dinner?"

"Yes, defiantly."

"Great, I was thinking about inviting Ryan. He doesn't seem to be too busy these days."

"That sounds fine, where?"

"Elevation. Their grub's good."

"Grub? Changing up the word choice, eh?"

"Something like that," he smiled, "anyways, I'll meet you later. Oh, and don't forget that the restaurant is a little bit dressier. I thought we could step it up a notch."

"Yep, bye."

---

Seth made his way over to where Ryan was standing looking at some forms, presumably from a certain girl named Marissa Cooper.

"How old is she?"

"Twenty-six, here with her parents."

"Fun," Seth said sarcastically.

"Yeah."

"Is there love on the horizon?"

"Shut up," Ryan said laughing., "I don't even know what she looks like."

"Hey, you never know."

"Um, hi. Are you Ryan Atwood?"

Ryan and Seth both turned around and looked up an down at the lanky blonde haired girl who stood in front of them.

"Yeah," Ryan stuck out his hand for her to shake. "Marissa, right?"

"Correct, that man over there said that I could fine you here," she smiled and pointed over to a man who was pointing again to another instructor.

"Yeah, that's Ned. So, you ready to get started?"

"Totally."

Ryan led Marissa over to where they could pick up her rented skis. He taught her the basics before they went up on the ski lift.

---

Seth sat in the snow waiting for Summer Roberts. He was busy being a child again and making a wall with snowballs.

He felt the presence of someone behind him and saw a petite brunette girl standing there looking unsure.

"Um, hi."

"Hi," she said.

"Are you Summer Roberts?"

"Yeah. Your Seth Cohen, right?"

"Right. So, you ready to get started?"

"Yeah. What should we do first?"

"We can get our skis, learn the basics, the usual."

She giggled, "and what would that usual be?"

He laughed too, "I don't know."

"Well, okay," she said, still smiling.

They made their way over, Seth getting his skis and Summer getting hers.

"So, Summer Roberts, where are you from?"

"California."

"You must not get out in the snow that often, huh?"

"You are right on that. I've only probably been skiing for like a total of two hours in my whole

life. I am not what you would call an _experienced skier_."

"What do people do for fun in the Golden State?"

"Well, we have the beach and of course shopping."

"Oh, yes, one of the favorite things among our nations girls."

"Of course it is," she said, laughing again. "Where are you from?"

"California."

"So you should know what we like to do! When did you move away?"

He looked down. He really didn't like talking about this time in his life.

"About seven years ago."

"Oh. Why did you come to Colorado? Cali and Colorado are like polar opposites?"

"I wanted to get a new start, away from California. I'd just kinda had enough there, you know?"

She looked into his eyes and could see that there was more. She understood though why he wasn't opening up to her. They had just met about ten minutes ago, she couldn't expect him to tell her everything.

This whole situation was weird for her. For some unexplainable reason, Summer felt a connection to him. Even though there had been no silences, and she could tell from talking to him that he was not one who did have a lot of silences, she could feel that they could be comfortable together.

She was surprised when he had first turned around and stood up. He was defiantly tall and lanky, but also strong. She found him surprisingly attractive since Matt was more built, almost totally different from Seth.

She also felt comfortable talking to him. She had been known to have walls blocking her feelings from the outside world, besides with the people that she loved.

She zapped out of thinking about Seth and realized that he was still rambling on about California.

She hoped that she hadn't missed anything important and focus again on him.

"... never had too many friends there. I much prefered comic books and sailing while most of the guys there liked water polo and going out on their big yachts."

She continued looking at him.

"Oh damn. That was an over share. Now you are going to think I'm a total loser."

"No, no."

"Wow, look at the time. We really should be getting up on that ski lift."

**I had some trouble with the chapter because I wasn't really sure if I wanted them to meet in this one or wait. Also, I thought it was interesting how many got the impression that Seth and Emily were dating. I haven't really decided on that yet, but I would like to know your opinions on wether or not they should be dating. Also, suggestions are welcomed. I have ideas but it would be great hearing yours.**

**Oh, one more thing. If you are reading the other story, _The Sounds of Settling_, I hope to have a new chapter posted within the next few days. School just sucks and is so time consuming. Hope you will stick with me.**

**Sorry this A/N is like way long, but the next chapter some different things from Seth's past life in California comes out. Hopefully you will all like it.**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Hey thanks for the reviews and the long wait. Updates are becoming less frequent due to my busy schedule, probably just like everyone's! Hope you'll stick with me!

Disclaimer: These things are pointless. Of course I own nothing!

Chapter 3

"Ow! This is the third time that this has happened! What the hell!" Summer looked up from her current position on the snow covered ground and stared up at Seth who was hovering over her.

"Don't worry about it," he said as he held a hand down to her, "you are probably that one in a million who have trouble standing still in skis."

She threw a glare his way and folded her arms across her chest pouting.

"I knew this was going to happen! I suck as skiing."

"Come on, we can just carry your ski's down there."

They trekked their way over to where the young kids were learning to stop using the "pizza technique".

"There is a 'pizza technique?'"

"Yeah, we use that on young kids to get them to actually imagine how to stop. It seems to work on their small minds."

"If I were one of them, I would be complaining of being hungry."

"Good thing your not five, then," he quipped, smiling at her through the early morning rays.

"Yeah, good thing," she sarcastically said right back.

Seth just shook his head and began to walk over to where their day would start.

---

"Grab onto the rope and it will pull you up the hill. Hold on tight though cause you could fall over."

"Yeah, yeah. This won't be that hard, Cohen."

"Cohen?"

"Well, it is your last name, right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Yeah, so what's the problem."

"No problem."

"Good. Okay, so when I get to the top of the hill, what do I do?"

"You come down."

"Like ski down?"

"Summer, there is an incline of like twenty degrees."

"Yeah, well its going to feel like ninety."

"Just do the hill."

---

Summer had skillfully mastered the hill and were on their way down to the ski lift

She had been thinking less and less about Matt and what he was up to and was more focused on the position of her feet and making sure that her knees were bent.

The afternoon sun was becoming stronger and the sweat beads on Seth and Summer's foreheads were becoming more visible.

"I'm hot. It's not supposed to be hot. We're in Colorado. Isn't it like always cold here?"

"A lot of the time yeah, but the sun gets hot. I can take your coat if you want and put it in the room right here with Joe, the ski lift manager."

"Yeah, thanks."

"Sure, we can just get it later. We should be coming back here several more times."

The line was progressing slowly and it was finally their turn to get on the lift. Seth had to explain to her how to be able to get onto the lift and to grab the bar in the center.

Several minutes went by and the lift stopped. A speaker came upon them and announced that, "the ski lift is having some technical difficulty and we hope to have it running in the next twenty minutes."

"Great," Seth said out loud.

"I'm starving. Skiing is hard work."

"Yeah it is," he said as he took his scarf off from around his neck and the gloves off from his hands and placed them in his pocket.

"So, tell me about yourself," Seth said, "we do have some time."

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, how long have you lived in California for?"

"I've been there my whole life and lived in Los Feliz."

"Sounds awesome. You like the beach?"

"Oh my gosh, I love the beach. You can go there and everything can seem perfect for just a couple hours," Summer reminisced, thinking about previous times that she had had on there.

"Yeah, I do remember loving the beach. I haven't been there in forever."

"When you go home you should go. You lived in Newport, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Seth said quietly, "So, where did you go for college?"

"I went to UCLA. I was so nervous that I wouldn't get in, but I did."

"What's you major?"

"I majored in graphic design and then got an undergrad in journalism. I didn't really know what I would use journalism for, but once I started classes, I loved it. So, I plan on using journalism in graphic design. What I really want though is to open my own company someday. That is actually how I met Matt, my boyfriend. I was actually designing a logo for the company that he works for."

"Yeah? That sounds awesome. I would tell this resort to call you. You could design our logo!" Seth said happily.

"That would be like totally awesome!"

"How long have you been with him for?"

"Who, Matt?"

He nodded.

"Our seven year anniversary is coming up, actually. It's been such a long time that I think I have sort of fallen into routine with him. Sometimes I wonder why I am still with him. I love him, but I think the only reason that I do is because I have been with him so long that I have convinced myself to love him. Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that I just told you that. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. Sometimes you need to get that stuff out."

She wondered how she could feel so comfortable telling him that. She had never told anyone that except her diary.

"I feel like I've known you forever. Like, even though we've only know each other for what, two hours? It feels like I have been talking to you for years, like I can tell you anything."

Seth gave her a small smile to tell her that he felt the same way.

"But, tell me about you."

"Like what?"

"Well, what brought you to Colorado?"

"When I left California, I just wanted to go somewhere where I knew no one would know me and I could just come here and start completely over. I wanted to be able to go somewhere and be able to escape from California and everyone there."

"You know, sometimes I wish I could do that, too. I love my life, but I wish that I could just run away and never look back."

"It was a huge change, but I needed to do it."

"You want to hear something crazy?" Summer asked.

"Sure."

"Last year, I actually thought about leaving. I had started packing my bags and almost put a pen to paper to tell Matt that I had to leave and for him to move on. I wanted to go Europe and opening a bakery."

"A bakery?"

"Yeah, I can make a mean chocolate croissant. And hey, I'm sure that muffins and scones aren't that hard to make either. And if they are, well then I'll have workers to do the dirty work for me."

"Ah, the true words of a California girl."

"Shut up," she laughed and gave his shoulder a slight punch.

"Ow! Jesus, is that something that California girls do too?"

"No, just me," Summer said and smiled to herself.

"Uh huh."

"So, what do you like to do for fun?"

"I've just started to pick the guitar up again. I played in highschool but then stopped for a while when I got here. I love writing music, too. I think it would be awesome to be in a band but so far, I haven't met anyone willing to start one with me. I also like to play playstation. My friend, Ryan, and I, we like to do that. He doesn't talk much, so that's something that we can both do without much talking, although I do seem to talk a lot when I play. I don't know how he doesn't talk that much. And here I am again, talking a lot."

Summer laughed, "no, it's fine."

She reached up and removed her soft black earmuffs and let the cold, bitting air hit her ears.

"So, tell me something else about yourself," she said, trying to carry the conversation on.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Okay. I love spinach and pineapple pizza."

"No! Tell me something no one knows about you. Your darkest secret."

He looked at her in the eyes and just like that he opened his mouth to tell her. Seth could not believe that this was happening. For years, he had kept this a secret and no one knew.

"Okay. Well do you want to know the real reason I left California?"

"Yeah, but I thought you left cause you wanted a fresh start?"

"That is one of the reasons, but there is another. I big one."

He stopped and looked down.

"You can tell me."

He looked back up again and out into the vast wilderness.

"See, when I was nineteen, I was dating this girl, Ali, and she got pregnant. I remember the night like it was yesterday. She came into my room and told me that she was going to keep the baby and I just held her all night. Of course I was going to help her and be there for her," Summer smiled at the though of him doing that. Not every teenage boy would be there for their girlfriend in a situation like that. "The months passed quickly and before I knew it, she was in labor and we were on out way to the hospital. I went home for about an hour to take a quick shower and get some clean clothes so I would be able to spend more time with Ali and the baby. When I went back to her room, the bed was empty and different tubes were astray. In the middle of all of that sat a note. It said that she had to go and that I would make an amazing father."

"Oh my god," Summer said.

He nodded, but went on.

"I called my parents as soon as I read the letter and my dad tried to track her, but he couldn't find anything. So, two days later, I took her home. Audrey Shannon Cohen. She was perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes. Her eyes were dark brown saucers that you could get lost in. But I was scared. A week later of sleepless nights and uncontrollable crying, I wrote a letter to my parents and asked them to watch over her, keep her safe. I told them to tell her about me though. And now, here I am, in Aspen."

He looked up at her again, "I've never told anyone that."

"I won't tell anyone. Seth, I am so sorry. I had no idea."

"No, it's okay."

The announcer came over the speakers again and said that the "problem has been fixed and that it should be moving along in two minutes."

"How about we take the lift back to our original place and get some lunch?"

"That sounds good," Summer said, her voice still small, her thoughts thinking about what he had just told her.

They made their way to the lounge where lunch would be available, both in a comfortable silence but both of their minds swirling with different thoughts.

Seth had just told the biggest secret of his life to a girl who he had known for about four hours. This was not something that he was used to doing. Was he falling for this girl?

Her stomach churned and she could tell that she was getting hungrier by the minute. But, the other thing that she felt was causing her stomach to flip, was the possibility that she was starting to like Seth Cohen. He was the anti-Matt and that was the attraction.

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, this story will be moving off the ski slopes and into more storylines between Seth, Summer, and Matt. I am not really sure when the next time Ryan and Marissa will make an appearance, but Ryan would be more likely to be seen.

Please review! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey! Thanks for the reviews everyone! I feel like I say this every time, but I am sorry for the wait. Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah right.**

**Chapter 4**

Seth and Summer walked into the café to find a table after they had gotten their food. They were still in a silence, but one that soon ended when Seth started talking.

"So, how's the food?"

"Good, good."

"Good," Seth paused, trying to think of something else to talk about.

"Yeah, well it's pretty hard to screw up a grilled cheese."

He smiled. "Hey, you never know."

"I have yet to come across a bad grilled cheese."

"I did, once. They put Swiss cheese on it. Swiss cheese!"

"No orange cheese?"

"No orange."

Summer snorted and let out a light chuckle.

"So tell me more about you," Seth said, catching her eyes.

"Me?"

He nodded.

"Well, I pretty much told you everything. Oh my gosh! I forgot to tell you something! I grew up next to Leonardo DiCaprio!"

"You just like telling people you grew up next to someone famous, don't you?"

"Maybe," she said and Seth raised his eyebrows. "Okay, yes, but you have to admit it's cool. I mean, it's Leonardo DiCaprio. We're talking Jack Dawson from _Titanic _here. Classic movie."

"Yeah, I thought it was a bit overdone. Especially the whole drawing scene. No one would ever do that."

"Dude, come on, that was so romantic. Although, Matt would never draw me like that. And I would never cheat on him with someone I just met, and I would never be on a sinking boat. But, other than that, everything is possible."

"I just think that the whole Titanic problem that happened in 1912 was horrible and that movie like mocked it."

Summer gasped. "Never! That movie will forever stand the test of time."

"Whatever. Did you ever go to his house?"

"No, but we did see him a couple of times."

"You lived next time him your whole life and you only saw him a 'couple of times'?"

"He is a very busy man. And I didn't live by him my whole life. He moved there like five years ago."

"Yeah. Well I lived by Kelly Rowan."

"Sure ya did."

"I did!"

Summer nodded and picked up a left over piece of crust from her grilled cheese and popped it into her mouth.

"Ready?"

"Totally. I am going to get down a hill without falling today."

"That's the spirit."

She got up and walked uncomfortably in her ski boots over to the trash can and dumped out her food. She looked over to see Seth still sitting down sipping hit soup. He could feel her eyes on him so he turned around and saw her with her arms crossed over her chest. He laughed to himself and got up, making his way over to her.

---

"Damn it!"

"Summer, chill, please."

"Don't tell me what to do! I fucking suck at this!"

"You don't need to cuss so much. It's not going to help," he said, trying to rationalize with her.

"It could help me!"

"Okay, okay, lets just try again. I'll help you this time."

"Thank you," she said, her words coming out stubborn.

Seth placed his skis going backwards and took her hands in his.

"Were going to take this slow. Just watch my feet and knees and imitate what I'm doing."

"Okay."

They started down the hill, slowly, but then gaining momentum.

Seth had never really gone down a hill backwards, until now, and wasn't used to the different dynamics. All of a sudden, Seth felt his skis collide with a patch of rocks and felt his head hit the snow covered ground.

"Shit!"

"Cohen! Oh my god! Are you okay?!"

He lay there, not answering.

"Get up, your scaring me!"

"Don't be scared, I'm fine."

"Get up, get up! I need to know your okay."

He sat up and Summer's arms immediately wrapped around him neck.

"Thanks, I'm okay though."

"Your head hit those rocks!"

"I know, but really I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Yes! Now, lets make it down this hill. What time is it?"

Seth checked his watch, "almost five."

"Okay. Should we get going?"

"Yeah, well take this hill slow and then you can be on your way."

Reality had just hit Seth and it told him that he would never see Summer again. She would be here at Game Creek Chalet with Matt and would then go back to California and start her normal daily routine.

"Okay."

They made their way down the hill and put their skis, boots, and poles away in their assigned

locker.

Summer took her phone out of her pocket and noticed that she had nine missed called. She flipped it open and saw that all of them were from Matt.

'_God, give me a few hours.' Summer thought_. Her thoughts stuck her as odd as she had never been annoyed with Matt. Back in California, he would call her all the time and each time, she would look forward to answering. She didn't understand how her mind was working this trip.

"So..." Seth said.

"Thanks so much for today. I had a lot of fun, even if I suck."

He touched her arm and said, "hey, you don't suck, you could just use some more work."

As he said that, Summer realized that she would never see him again. He had made her feel so good about herself and comfortable around him.

She knew that Matt and hers time in Colorado was limited, but she had this feeling that she needed to get to know Seth more.

Before she could think about what she was going to say, words came floating out.

"So, I was thinking that maybe we could work again tomorrow. You know, we had a lot of

different things happen today that took up valuable time, and I would love to get better. That is if you don't have some other student tomorrow."

He smiled. "Yeah, that would be awesome."

"Great," she smiled shyly. She walked up to him and hugged him, surprising herself.

"Same time tomorrow, then."

"Bye," she said, as she walked off, taking out her phone to call Matt.

---

"Hey, baby," Matt came over and sat on the bed next to Summer.

"Hey."

"You up for dinner?"

"Totally. I'm starving. You in the mood for Italian?"

"Sounds good. I talked to the concierge today and she gave me good restaurants that would she test out. One was Italian, so we can head into Aspen?"

"Sounds amazing. I've never been to Aspen at night."

"Well, get ready and we can leave in an hour?"

He stood up and placed a quick kiss on her temple.

"Sure."

"Oh, I almost forgot! How was your lesson?"

"It was great. We can talk about it more at dinner."

"Alright."

---

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Summer and Matt walked hand-in-hand out of their hotel and to their rental car, heading to downtown Aspen.

They rounded the bend and the hill from the mountain flattened out and Aspen came into view.

Matt found a parking space and walked round to open Summer's door. She stepped out and immediately wrapped her coat tighter around her shoulders. Matt noticed as she pulled her coat around her and then put him arm around her shoulders.

She looked up at him and smiled and offered a "thanks."

"It's gorgeous!"

"Your gorgeous."

"Cheesy, Matt."

"It's true."

"Yeah, it is."

Matt's eyes widened and Summer started laughing.

They continued walking and saw the Christmas light lined trees and the small shops lights

dimmed.

"I can see my breath!" Summer exclaimed.

"I know."

"It's just so cool. I wish we had snow in California. It's so fun. Isn't it weird how if you look at a map of the United States, Colorado seems so close to California but California never has snow, except in Northern California, but Colorado seems to get so much snow."

"Colorado and California are far from each other."

Summer wondered why Matt always seemed to have to have the last say in everything. She could never just say something without him having to be right.

"I know, but still."

"Okay, lets go. I'm starved!"

---

The night progressed and soon the desert and coffee was being brought.

"So, how was the lesson?" Matt asked.

"It was fun. I'm not very good, but I think I could get better."

"That's good. You want to go out tomorrow? We could get up early and start right away."

"Actually, I asked for another lesson tomorrow. Things seemed to go so fast today and different things happened, so I thought that another full day would be good."

"Oh," he said, not masking his disappointment.

"But, then the next day we could go out together."

She placed her hand on top of his.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

---

Summer's alarm went off at six o'clock and she wearily got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She switched on the light, the light causing her eyes to squint. She looked out into their room and saw that Matt was still sleeping.

She brushed her teeth and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail. She turned off the bathroom

light and picked out some warm clothes to last the day.

At seven forty-five, she was out the door and on her way to where she met Seth the previous day.

They were not supposed to meet until nine, but she thought that maybe they could get some breakfast before they had to go out. Summer wasn't sure even if Seth would be here this early, but she may as well see.

She walked into the room that was filling up with instructors and looked around for Seth. She spotted him over in the corner talking to someone she had never seen, although from their conversation, she presumed it was Ryan.

"Hey, Cohen."

"Oh, Summer, hey. What are you doing here?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to grab some breakfast or something before we went out."

"Defiantly. They say breakfast is the most important meal."

"Yeah." Summer turned to Ryan and put her hand out for him to shake. "Hey, I'm Summer."

"Ryan, good to meet you."

"Thanks, you too. Seth told me a lot about you yesterday."

"Bad things, probably."

"Ryan, did you just make a joke?"

"Yeah, I did actually. I didn't even try that time either."

"That's so great. You are finally mastering the art of the joke."

"_Finally._"

"Again, a joke! Anyways, we should be going."

"Yeah, it was good to meet you Ryan. See you 'round?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Seth went to his locker and got his coat and a twenty dollar bill for breakfast.

"You caught me at a good time. I was just about to grab something on my own. Now I have company."

"Yeah, I figured I should ask you if you wanted something. And, I'm craving a two percent white chocolate no foam light whip cream mocha."

"Spoken by a true California girl. You know, all I'm craving is a black coffee."

"You know, once you start hanging around me, your coffee orders will get so much more complicated. Hell, your whole life may be more complicated."

"I'm ready to take those odds."

**Hey everyone! Thanks for reading. I didn't edit this chapter because I just wanted to get it up. Please leave a review and let me know what you would want to see!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey. A long coming chapter. The site has been down again for the third time in like two months or something. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**From here on out, well most of the chapters at least, will be moving pretty fast. I don't really like to have a lot of filler chapters, even though that may be necessary at times, so I hope you enjoy that.**

**Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to June.Louise who gave me the idea for this chapter and being a constant reviewer.**

**One more thing, thanks again to everyone who is reading and reviewing. Please review.**

**Disclaimer: Pshhh.**

**Chapter 5**

The afternoon went without a hitch and Seth and Summer were waiting in line for a ski lift.

Summer had been miraculously better and was actually enjoying skiing.

"I'm so cold," Summer complained.

"Better savor this weather down here. It's going to be colder up at the top of the mountain."

"Thanks for making me feel better, ass."

"I speak the truth."

The line began to move and they both maneuvered their skis to move several inches further.

"Ready?" Seth asked.

"Yeah."

The chair came around they both hopped on, making their way up the mountain.

Wind began to come from all around and the temperature seemed to drop dramatically every minute. Clouds came rolling in and a mixture of heavy snow and hail started to fall from the sky.

A speaker came across and announced that "the lift will continue to progress to the top of the hill. Due to the weather conditions, we will not allow anyone to go down the mountain. We will have lodging available for you until the weather clears. As the staff from Game Creek Chalet, we apologize for the inconvenience."

"Yes, we apologize," Seth said, sounding like the man who came over the speaker.

Summer smiled and hit Seth on the arm.

"You know, I didn't feel that little hit at all. My gushy coat protected me," he told her.

"Want me to hit you harder?"

"No," his voice came quickly.

"What are we going to do now!?"

"Well, we will get to the top of the hill and then eventually make it back down okay."

"_Eventually_?"

"It will be fine. The lodge at the top of the hill is nice."

"That's what you think I'm worried about? If the lodge is _nice_?"

"Well, I remember one time there was a small avalanche and I was on the lift with Ron, a student of mine at one time, and all he cared about was if the lodge was 'nice'..." Seth continued to ramble while Summer just sat there.

"I need to go back down that hill. Now. Matt will be down there waiting for me! I have no way to get a hold of him."

"There _are _phones there."

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Cohen."

"Is this a rage blackout?" he asked, thinking back on a conversation that they had had a couple days back.

"Not quite, but if we don't get down this hill tonight, I will have one."

"Lets just see how things go. You can call Matt when we get to the top."

Seth almost felt like he was being dismissed when Summer was saying that she had to call Matt.

Wasn't he good enough? Things had been going perfect all morning and they were noticeably flirty. But then, he had to consider that Summer and Matt had been dating for seven years and they were still strong. He still had a small flame in his heart that maybe he should continue to get

to know this girl. She seemed to be perfect and still all of her flaws appealed to him.

'_What is going on? Why am I all of a sudden being a bitch?_' _Summer thought. 'Things were good. Really good, well as good as they could be for friends. I can't believe that I was actually flirting with him.'_ Summer's feelings overtook her and should couldn't stop thinking about the guy sitting next to her. She had no idea why these thoughts were even occurring.

Summer didn't understand what was happening. She had never met anyone, not even Matt, who

caught her eye immediately and conversations were not consumed by awkward silences. But now, Seth caught her eye.

"We're almost to the top. Ready to get off?"

Summer only heard the last part of the sentence and nodded her head yes.

"We can go into the lodge and you can get coffee or hot chocolate and then call Matt."

"Okay."

---

Time on the ski lift seemed to pass slowly, but now time at the lodge was passing even slower.

Seth and Summer were sitting, coffee for Seth and hot chocolate for Summer, in hand. They were sharing a love seat right in front of the fireplace, but seemed to be worlds apart. Their many articles of clothing were sprawled out all over the floor in front on the fire place in hope of them drying and Summer's red nose and cheeks were becoming less rosy.

As soon as Summer got into the lodge, she tried to call Matt but the call wouldn't go through.

But, the one time that the call went though, it went to his voice mail. She heard his voice filter through the speaker and looked over to see Seth staring at the fire.

She left him a short message saying that they were stuck on top of the mountain and no one was allowed up or down.

She made her way back over to the love seat and sat down.

"Sorry I'm being a bitch it's just that Matt and I don't get very much time off together and this was like our one break together this year. And when I told him that I was having another lesson with you today, I could just see the disappointment on his face. I guess I just don't want to disappoint him."

"Summer, you couldn't disappoint him."

She looked up and smiled at him.

"Your sweet," she said softly.

"Excuse me, everyone please listen up for a minute," said an employee at the lodge, "it seems that the weather is supposed to get increasingly worse, so we are advising that everyone stay here tonight. There will be no extra charge and everything you need will be taken care of. If there are any questions, you can see other employees or myself. Thank you."

"Great."

"Do you want to get a room?"

"Not really."

"I probably should have said something earlier, but my house isn't too far from here. It's about a mile down and over on the mountain. We could have a snow patrol person take us over there is you wanted. I have an extra room and even extra clothes."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Um, no?"

"This whole time we have been sitting here with a bunch of random people when we could be at your house?"

"Sorry."

"I'm totally kidding. But, sure, I'd love to go. It's better than this shit hole."

Seth looked at her before she let out a laugh and a "kidding! It's not quite a shit hole."

Seth let a small smile out, but on the inside his smile was ten times the size on the outside.

"Great, let me just find someone to take us."

He began to walk away when Summer asked, "you have a hot tub?"

"Would it be a problem if I did?"

"No."

"Then I guess I do."

And with that, Seth went off leaving a smiling Summer on the couch.

---

The snow patrol took them down and dropped them off in front of Seth's home nestled in the side of the mountain.

"This is so cute!"

"Yeah?" Seth asked as they walked up to his front door.

"Yeah! I wished I lived here."

He took out his key chain and located the right key before turning the lock and opening the front door.

"I'll show you your room and then you can take a tour."

"Then we can get in the hot tub," Summer said.

"Then we can do that."

"No!" Summer began to pout.

"What?"

"I don't have a bathing suit."

"Actually, you know my friend, Emily, she left a bathing suit here once and I accidently washed it, so if you want to wear that one, go ahead, you are probably around the same size."

"Okay, thanks."

"It's in the top drawer in the dresser."

Summer disappeared behind the door and Seth just stood there, unable to move.

Just like that, Seth bolted to the phone in the living room and dialed Ryan's number. He picked up after one ring and he could hear someone in the background talking to Ryan.

"Hello?"

"Ryan, man, I need your help. Fast."

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"No. Not at all. Summer is here and _spending this night_. Why does this stuff happen to me?! Worst thing, were going in the hot tub. The hot tub! That is like the main place for intimate things to happen. Speaking of intimate, did you see the Real World on Monday? Talk about messed up people doing the nasty less than twenty-four hours before they met. Now, that is what I call moving fast."

"No, Seth, I did not see the Real World and why is Summer staying at your house?"

"Well the weather is crap right now and they are letting no one up or down the mountain, so I offered that she could stay here. It's better than staying in the germ bed with like a bunch of other people. Who are you with?"

"Oh, Marissa's over. We were about to grab some take-out and a movie. You and Summer can come if you want."

"No, it's okay, were fine. Shit, I've got to go, I hear her. Bye."

Seth hung up before Ryan got the chance to say anything back.

He looked up and was met by a bikini clad Summer wrapped in a towel, obviously ready for the hot tub.

"Looking forward to the hot tub a little but there, Summer?"

"Just a little."

"You can get in, I'll be right out. I'm going to find out what's going on with the weather and then

get my suit on."

"Alright."

---

Seth checked the weather station and it called for continual snow throughout the next several

days. The possibility of the whole resort getting snowed in was rather likely and Seth seemed to like the odds that were coming from this.

He walked into his room and put his swim suit on and went into the kitchen to see if he had anything to eat or drink.

"You want something to drink or eat?"

"I would love a vodka and coke if you have that."

"That could be arranged."

He made several different kinds of drinks and brought them out. He almost stopped walking

when he saw Summer in a small bikini, but tried to keep his composure. He picked up her drink and handed it to her without a word.

Summer smiled at him and said, "earth to Cohen. You seem like you've never seen a girl in a hot tub before."

"No, I have, actually."

---

The night continued as did the alcohol and soon both Seth and Summer were at their top level in how much they could hold.

They were still in the hot tub, but seeing as how a small game of truth-or-dare started, numerous clothing items had been shed.

"You know, Cohen, we could get like snowed in your house!"

Summer laughed at her comment and looked outside seeing the snow continue to fall at a steady pace.

"Summer, I think you may be right. It would not be the first time it has happened. Actually, each year around this time, that happens."

"You mean, you can actually get snowed in?"

"I do live in the side of the mountain. The doors freeze close."

Summer's eyes opened wide and realized that Matt would be all along. Again.

"Well, I guess Matt is on his own tonight," Summer said.

"You okay with that?"

"You know, it's weird, I am totally fine with that. For some reason, he has been really bothering me lately. I can't exactly put my finger on what it is, but he _always _has to be right on everything."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to let you down. You know, sometimes guys always feel the need to be right on everything or they think girls won't 'look up to them'."

"That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. He doesn't need to prove anything to me. I love him. He loves me."

The _'I love him' _came out forced. Summer seriously had no clue what was going on. Why were things becoming so much more complicated?

The only way that Summer thought could take away her insecurities was alcohol.

"Get me a beer."

"I thought you didn't do beer." Seth said, remembering a conversation.

"Your right, I don't. But, now I want one. Get me one."

"Fine."

He got up and went into the kitchen grabbing a beer from the refrigerator. He placed his hands on the granite island that was in the middle of the kitchen and put his hands on it, taking a deep breath.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Seth got back in the water and noticed as Summer inched closer to him, inch by inch.

"I can see why," Seth spoke softly, but through drunken slaps against the water, Summer heard him.

"You can see what?" Summer asked back.

"Why he would love you."

'_Just do it,' Summer thought._ She would never know her feelings if she didn't try.

So she did. She threw her unopened can of beer in the hot tub and didn't see it float to the top. Instead, in that moment, she threw her arms around Seth's neck and kissed him. Hard. Electrifyingly hard.

"Sorry. Shit. Fuck. I'm sorry. I don't know why I did that. I've got to go."

Summer ran to the front door and opened it, the strong snow and freezing winds hitting her wet body; immediately sobering her up a little. She slammed it shut and ran back into the guest room after realizing that that was the only place she had that she could go.

If the snow kept up, they really would be snowed in. _Snowed in._ Great.

**Hey guys, thanks for reading. I re-wrote this chapter two times and I still am not totally happy with it, but it was the best I could do with what I wanted to put into the chapter. I also feel that their characters may have been a little out of how they normally are. Please review, now and tell me what you thought as well as ideas for new chapters!**

**Next chapter will be the chapter where they are stuck in the house. I have some funny things planned out for that, so look out for that!**

**One more thing, do you think that I should put in scenes of Kirsten, Sandy, and Audrey back in Newport and show how their lives are now that Seth has been gone? And also remember that Seth has been gone for six years so Audrey knows a little about what has happened, but not everything.**


	6. Chapter 6

**In light of the supposed Adam and Rachel spilt, and being deeply depressed about it, I have been given a time to regroup and continue to post for this on a regular basis. I hope that all you Adam and Rachel fans are supporting them and will continue to do so. Hahah- I sound like one of their reps. Anyways, please read and review!**

**Thanks for those who reviewed on the last chapter. I would love to get 15 reviews on this chapter! And if you are reading my other story, I posted the last chapter on that as well. **

**This chapter is dedicated to ososxcseth.**

**Also, due to it being Christmas Eve and tomorrow, Christmas Day, I thought that I would put a little holiday cheer in this post. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy insert holiday here! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Hahahah. Funny.**

**Chapter 6**

"God damn it, my head!" Summer groggily said as she sat up in bed.

She looked to her left at the clock which said 4:37 and surveyed her surroundings, wondering where she was.

_The kiss, the hot tub, the alcohol, Seth. Oh God, Seth._

It all came flooding back in a series of moments replayed back to her like those old fashioned movie clips that would count backwards from 10.

'_Matt, shit. What the hell am I doing on this mountain?' she thought to herself as she wearily got up and slowly made her way to the kitchen for some water._

She was going to have to call Matthew once the clock showed a reasonable hour.

The thought of being snowed in this house was not something that Summer wanted to think about right now. She wanted to be down in her cabin, nestled next to Matt in their king sized bed.

But no, she was here, on this mountain, God knows where, still slightly buzzed, with a boy that she barely knew two rooms down.

She opened the refrigerator door and immediately closed it due to the bright light that it let off. She closed her eyes and then opened it again, feeling around for the pitcher of water. She finally located it and pour a glass for herself. She noticed that there were pictures on the door of the refridgerator. She walked over and began to look at them. There were many taped on; some of him and Ryan, two older people that she assumed to be him parents, a girl and him that from conversation, she made out to be Emily. There was also one that was labeled 'Seth and Grandpa'.

Before she could look at the others, the kitchen light shot on. Just as it went on, she flew her body around and lunged the glass of water at the intruder.

"Holy fuck! What they hell are you doing?!"

"Oh my God, I am so sorry," Summer said, rushing to the sink to get a towel.

She ran over to him and started drying him off, slightly laughing.

"What are you doing up?" Seth asked her.

"I couldn't sleep. Plus, I have a killer headache. You know, back in highschool, I wasn't such a lightweight. Things have changed I guess."

"I'm still a lightweight if that makes up for anything."

"No, it doesn't, but it's okay."

Summer stopped running the towel through his hair and along his shirt. She looked into his eyes that were directed at the floor and searched his face for understanding. She wasn't exactly sure what understanding he had, but she felt that she needed to find it.

Summer didn't know how long she had been staring at him for, but it was defiantly long enough that he had looked up and was staring into her eyes. She closed her eyes once he noticed that he was looking and decided to bring up something to talk about. She didn't want her temporary stay with him to be something that it wasn't.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure?"

"What are we doing here?"

"As in on this mountain?" Seth asked.

"Um, well, from what I can remember, they closed down the mountain, we came to my house,

went in the hot tub, had several drinks, and by several I mean _more_ that four, and then we went to bed."

"You forgot to add that we kissed."

"Yes I did. Well, I didn't forget, I just didn't add it in."

"Why?"

"No reason."

"Was I a bad kisser or something?" Summer asked, her voice coming off serious.

"No actually, you were good. Really good."

Inside Seth was beaming while on the outside trying desperately to cover the overwhelming smile that was about to appear on his face.

"You actually didn't have to tell me that I was good. I already knew. And just if you were wondering, you were okay, but with a little work, you would be amazing."

"Huh. Well, okay. I guess I'll have to practice more."

"You practice? On what? A piece of fruit? Or wait, I know, your shower wall?" she joked.

"Oh, yeah, your funny, Roberts. But, if you must know, I have numerous women that line up at my door each night wanting me. Although, no one was here last night because of the lack of transportation that could get them up the hill so you weren't able to see them. Although, you were in my hot tub. I should have taken advantage of you when I had the opportunity."

"Good to know."

"Yeah."

Seth stepped away from the intensity of their eye lock and walked to the refrigerator where he pilled out a can of Mountain Dew.

"Want another water? Or I guess you could ring out my shirt and just have that."

"Ha ha. You are so funny. But, sure, I'll have another water."

He grabbed one and they both went over to the couch. The room was pitch black as the snow had covered about a half of the window. He got the box of matches and lit six candles that were scattered around the living room.

Summer took the opportunity to take up the whole couch and spread out. She took a thick blanket that was draped over the back of it and covered herself, her bottle of water resting on the blanket.

"Can I ask you something else?" Summer said as Seth sat down on the adjacent couch.

"Sure."

"It's something a little more personal."

"Okay."

"So, I remember a couple of days ago when you told me that you have a daughter in Newport."

Seth's face dropped. He really didn't like talking about this with anyone, no matter how close they were, but he feeling okay about opening up about everything. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be nosey or anything."

"No, no it's fine. I probably need to talk about this."

"Okay. Well, then why did you leave her?"

"The only legit reason that I have is because I was scared. But after saying that, that is not even

close to being legit. I was being selfish and only thinking about what would be best for me. I mean, I created a person. A baby. A selfless little life that I knew I would not be able to fully love. Now though, I wish everyday that I could jump back seven years and hold in my arms and never let go. I wish that I could have seen her grown up, cry, change diapers, watch her get her first tooth and then loose them. I wish that I could yell and her and then go apologize for over reacting for something so irrelevant. I just want to hug her and make up the past years to her. I want to know her and love her."

"She would love that, you know."

"But, I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"That she won't forgive me."

Summer sat up and looked at Seth in the eye.

"She will. What she won't forgive you for is if you never try and contact her."

She got up and sat down on the hard carpet in front of the couch that Seth was perched on. She took his hand, surprised at her own action, but didn't pull away.

"I'm sure she wants to know you as much as you want to know her. Just let her know it. I'm going to bed, I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Cohen."

Seth sat there in silence mulling over everything she had just told him. He sat there for about five more minutes when he realized that Summer had gone off to bed, "goodnight, Summer," he whispered into the air, and fell asleep on the couch.

---

Seth woke up two hours later as the sun peaked out from behind the mountain. The beams glistened in his eyes as he opened them and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

He walked over to the coffee maker and poured the proper amount of water and coffee into the pot and pressed start. He then slouched over to the TV to turn on the weather channel to see when this weather would finally end.

"... and today we have a circulation of strong winds coming in from the west at around sixty miles per hour and around an eighty-five percent chance of snow. Through our records we assume that there should be around thirteen more inches of snow headed our way. This seems to be the largest snow storm that Vail has seen in a while. The weather center in Denver advises that no one leave their homes until the weather dies down," the weather man rambled.

'_Great,' Seth thought as he made his way back to the coffee maker._

"Hello and welcome to the weather channel, it is Jeff with your local weather for December 24th, 2013," the weatherman said.

Seth could tell that it was all a recording and it finally clicked that it was December 24th.

'_Oh shit, shit, shit. I forgot! I don't even have any presents for anyone- not Ryan, Emily, Don, Mandy-' all the names of people that he worked with were going through his mind. 'Damn it, Summer's here. She's going to want something for Christmas.' _

His mind traveled to think of something that he could do for her with the little resources that he had.

It was only six am so he predicted that he still had two hours until Summer woke up. He got out his recipe book and started right away.

---

One and a half hours later the kitchen was covered in flour, spilled milk, and egg shells were scattered all across the floor. The pan on the stove was frying bacon and sausage and the other was simmering with pancake batter.

Summer stirred in her bed and sniffed the pancake and bacon scented air before parting her eyes.

She smiled and knew instantly what day it was. Her head told her that she should be at least a little disappointed that she wasn't with Matthew, but her heart told her that this is where she should be for the time being.

She went into the bathroom and made herself look like she had not just "risen from the dead" as she so nicely put it. She brushed her teeth and let her hair fall down on her shoulders.

Three minutes later she was making her way down the steps and into the kitchen where she stopped walking and watched as Seth created an even bigger mess.

"Dude, do you realize the monumental mess you're making?"

"Oh, Summer, hey," he said, looking around the kitchen. "And to answer your question, no I

didn't realize it until you said something. Thanks for snowing on my parade."

She laughed and added, "anytime."

Summer strolled over to where Seth was getting ready to flip a pancake but took the spatula before he could.

"Hey, I am the kitchen master, no one takes my spatula."

"I do."

"Fine," he grunted.

'_That was easy,' she thought and smiled to herself._

"Aww, Cohen! The pancakes aren't circles!"

"Their S's; for Seth and Summer."

"That is adorable."

"My mom used to do that for me when I was a tot."

"The only pancakes that I had were frozen ones that you put in the microwave."

Seth didn't say anything to her comment, but just looked down at her.

'_Dude, no this is bad. You cannot, I repeat, cannot have the smallest morsel of feelings for her,' he told himself as he caught himself looking at her. 'She's gorgeous, funny, smart, easy to love- fuck, fuck, fuck, stop.'_

He stopped thinking about what he was just thinking about and focused on getting silverware and plates out of the cabinet. He placed them on the table and lit the candle that was in the middle.

"Ready?"

"For breakfast?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Yes, I'm starving."

"Good."

They sat in silence, each thinking about the other.

"So, today is Christmas Eve," Seth said, trying to break the silence.

"Yep. Get me anything?"

"Uh- um.. no."

"Kidding, Cohen, come on."

"Right. Well to be honest, I temporarily forgot that Christmas was so soon and I didn't get anyone anything, not like I could deliver presents today anyways."

"I didn't buy gifts this year either, well I did for Matt, but that was it."

"Did he get you anything?"

"He got me this trip. He surprised me like two weeks ago with it."

"That was nice," he said, all of a sudden uncomfortable around her.

"Yeah, it was. It's nice being here with you though."

"Yeah?" he smiled, his deep dimples showing.

"Yeah."

He got up and walked into the kitchen with Summer's eyes looking him up and down as we walked.

He came back in with something behind his back.

"Merry Chrismukkah, Summer," he said and hung a small piece of mistletoe above her and kissed her cheek.

"Merry Chrismukkah, Seth."

---

An hour later, Seth and Summer were sitting on the couch talking about several different things.

Summer was amazed at how even the conversation was going and wondered how it was possible to talk about so many different things, never once stopping a beat.

She had closed her eyes as they were talking and they shot open as Seth rambled on about sailing on the Pacific Ocean.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, interrupting him.

"What?"

"Did you hear that.. that noise?"

"Um, no."

"Huh, okay. Go on."

Seth started on again about boats and the Pacific Ocean when he heard a loud banging noise coming from the front door.

"Did you hear that?" Seth asked.

"Yes."

He got up from the couch with Summer following closely behind. Seth looked through the window and saw that it was Ryan.

He threw open the door and said, "get in here, man! What are you doing out there right now?"

"It's Christmas Eve, Seth. I always come over on Christmas Eve," Ryan said to him.

"And who is this?" Summer spoke for the first time.

"This is Marissa. Marissa, this is Seth and Summer if I remember correctly."

"Hey, how are you?" Summer asked her.

They immediately started talking and went into the family room while Seth and Ryan started talking.

"What are you doing, man?! She has a boyfriend!"

"Hey! It's not my fault that the snow decided to fall. And your one to talk, Dude, bringing a girl with you here. She has got to be staying with you then since no one is allowed up and down the

mountain."

"Yes, she has been, but she's only with her family, not her boyfriend of seven years."

"Shades of gray, Ryan, shades of gray."

"Whatever. So what have you two been doing up here?"

"We hot tubbed it, talked, ate. Wait, how did you ever get here?"

"We walked."

"The weather is terrible!"

"Seth, I live like four houses away."

"So. You shouldn't have come. You could have been swept up in a burst of wind."

Ryan looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"You like her don't you?" Ryan asked, already knowing the answer.

"No."

"Seth! She has a boyfriend!"

"Ryan, I do not like her."

"Uh huh," he called over his shoulder as he walked into the living room to join Summer and Marissa.

"So yeah, I live in Los Feliz now. You should totally drive down and spend the weekend with me!" Summer exclaimed.

Summer and Marissa took an immediate liking to each other. They were already making plans to

hang out and have a girls weekend the next month.

Seth walked into the living room and asked Ryan to help him make some lunch that probably wouldn't be ready until dinner.

They left the room and Summer and Marissa wondered down to the room Summer was currently occupying.

"So, how did you end up with Seth? I mean, aren't you here with your boyfriend?"

Summer laughed a little nervously and said, "long story, actually, but we were skiing and while we were on the lift they told us that they were no longer letting anyone up or down the mountain.

So we got to the top and Seth offered to go to his house until the weather calmed down a little bit. I didn't expect us to be up here this long, but I guess things just worked out like this. I didn't even say bye to him before I left yesterday morning and now I can't even get a call out."

"Really? You want my cell phone? I have service."

"You do?"

"Yeah, it seems like I am the only one to have it to."

"Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

Marissa walked into the foyer and grabbed her phone from her purse bringing it back to Summer.

"Here you go."

"You're a life saver, I bet he's freaking out."

She dialed the familiar number but a feeling that she got in her stomach was something that she had never felt before.

It was almost fear. Fear was maybe a little exaggerated, but it was defiantly something close to fear.

It rang for what seemed like ten minutes before she heard a "hello?"

"Matt?"

"Baby, who's that?" Summer heard someone say in the background.

"Summer?"

"Yeah, it's me," she said, her attitude fully showing.

"Oh my God, Summer, where have you been?"

"Who are you with?"

"The maid just came in," he said, a little too fast. "Anyways, where have you been?"

"The mountain got closed down yesterday afternoon. I've been trying to make a call out but I

haven't had service and then two of Seth's friends stopped by for Christmas Eve and her phone had service, so I'm using her phone."

"Your with Seth? Like ski instructor Seth?"

"Yes, ski instructor Seth."

"I don't want you with him. Summer, come off that mountain now."

"Matt, I can't. It's closed and there are like two hundred degree winds!"

"Sum, I don't care how long it takes. I expect you to be lying next to me when I wake up

tomorrow."

"Your drunk, Matt. Go sleep."

"Matthew, I have a present for you. It's that thong from Victoria's Secret that you told me you loved last month. You remember, the one with the mini 'Santa skirt' and matching bra. Open up the box!"

"Shut up, Shelly," Matt hissed.

"Shelly?!" Summer yelled. "Who the hell is that?"

"The TV Summer, I've got to go. I'll see you in the morning."

"Fuck you!" she screamed into the phone after she heard the dial tone.

"You okay?" Marissa asked running into the room.

"My fucking boyfriend was fucking some girl while he was on the phone with me!"

"What?!"

"He was drunk though."

"Summer, that doesn't matter."

"He has never been like this. Ever. He's always been so sweet and made sure that I had

everything I needed."

"Sometimes people aren't all their cracked out to be."

"But this is different. Was he bored with me?"

"No, I'm sure that's not it."

"Oh my God, am I a boring girlfriend?"

"Summer this is so not your fault."

"No, no, I think it is."

Realization dawned on Summer that Matt had been taking more trips this year than other years.

"Holy shit. This has been going on for a long time."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he's been here a lot for 'business'. But his real business was with that slut Shelly or whatever her name was."

"I'm sorry, Summer." Marissa walked over and hugged Summer, tears forming in her eyes.

'_How could I be so stupid? I mean seven years and we were still _great _I looked past everything. I didn't even see the signs and they were right in front of me.' Summer thought to herself. 'I mean, he was cheating on me and I was too caught up in trying to act like the perfect couple to even see it.'_

"Don't beat yourself up over this, it's not your fault."

"Marissa, so offense or anything, but you don't even know me."

"Summer, I'm just trying to help. Honest."

"I need a drink," Summer said, getting up from the bed and walking out as if nothing happened.

---

"I like her, Ryan."

"I know you do."

"And you like Marissa."

"Yes I do."

"You do?" Seth asked.

"Yeah."

"Wow. I never thought you'd tell me that so fast. You had sex with her, didn't you"

"No."

"That no was quite coy. I think you did, Atwood."

He looked around before whispering, "fine, we did. Last night."

"I knew it!" Seth said back in a loud whisper, pumping his arms in the air.

"You can't tell anyone."

"Who would I tell?"

"Uh, let me see, Summer, Dumbshit."

"Hey, no name calling now. But I promise I won't tell anyone. So are you like dating her?"

"I'm not sure exactly."

"Oh, well good luck with that then."

"Yeah."

Summer walked into the kitchen headed straight for the Barcardi vodka and coke. The normal amount of vodka that should have been added to the coke was not phased by Summer who proportioned the vodka and coke to a ratio of about five to one, with the five being vodka.

"Summer, you okay there?" Seth asked as he made his way over to her, placing a hand on her lower back.

"Fine," she replied shortly.

After a couple of minutes watching Summer down coke and vodka, Seth went on a mission to

find Marissa. He had a feeling she knew what was wrong.

"Marissa?"

"Huh?" she said, hearing someone come in the room.

"Hey, I was just wondering if we could talk?"

"Um, sure," she patted an open spot on the bed.

"Is everything okay with Summer?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Why?"

"Well she is racking in coke and vodka. Although, she might as well drink straight vodka, I mean the coke isn't defacing the alcohol at all."

"No, she's fine."

"Please tell me."

"Seth, I don't think she wants you to know. Actually, your probably the last person she wants to know what happened."

"Please, Marissa."

He looked at her, his best puppy dog face he could muster.

"Your pathetic," she said, laughing.

"Pathetic enough to tell me?"

"Fine," she sighed, "apparently Matt has been cheating on her for a while. She called him and she

could hear this girl, Shelly, in the background talking about a thong or something."

"That fucker."

"Yeah. She said he was drunk. Like that makes it any better though."

"I'll have to talk to her."

"Please don't say anything about me telling you."

"I won't. And Marissa," he said as she looked up at him, "congrats. I can already tell that Ryan is

happier."

She didn't say anything, just slightly smiled.

---

After way too many drinks later, the pain partially gone, and Summer was still going strong. She

was now dancing on the coffee table in the middle of the living room and about to give Seth a lap dance.

"Summer, baby, I think maybe you should put the drink down and switch to water."

"Don't call me baby, Seth. Matt called me baby and Matt is a dick."

"Okay, well, I won't call you that. Just get down, we can talk."

"Talk? What's there to talk about?"

"Never mind," he mumbled and got up, picked Summer up off the table and sat back down on

the couch with her on his lap.

"What the hell, Cohen! I was _dancing_. Oh my God! It's 1:33! It's officially Christmas!"

"Yeah," he whispered.

"I like Christmas with you. We have fun together. I feel like I'm falling, save me Seth."

"Sweetie, your right here. I've got you. Your safe."

Marissa was sitting on the seat next to them, pretending that she wasn't listening, but really she was. She heard everything. She was glad that Ryan wasn't trying to talk to her, but instead was to much into a game of Sin City.

"No, no, someone's going to take me. Hold me."

"Summer," she said shaking her. She opened her eyes and her eyes pierced his. "I'm dying. You

have to help me. I have no one now."

"You have me."

Once Seth said that, Summer delved right in and placed big, sloppy kisses along Seth's neck. He almost pulled away, but then didn't. He let her continue as she slowly moved up to his face, then finally to his lips.

They made out for a while, both only thinking about the other. Their hands traveled, one of Seth's hands causing construction to Summer's hair while the other slipped under her shirt. Summer's hands were everywhere, but her right always seemed to be at the back of his neck and through his hair.

Summer repositioned herself, now straddling him. She moved her wandering hand to his belt buckle, but he grabbed her hand, pulling it away. He was not someone to take advantage of a girl when they were drunk. He kept her hand in his and laced his fingers through, playing with her fingers.

"I want you," she mumbled against his lips.

"No, you don't."

"Yes I do."

Ryan still had not noticed but Marissa was trying to decide to watch them, or watch the TV.

Something good happened when Ryan shot around to tell Seth, Summer, and Marissa, but before he could say anything, Marissa covered his mouth with her hand. She pointed to Seth and Summer and Ryan's mouth dropped and his eyes became bigger.

"Oh my God." Ryan mouthed.

Summer pulled away and smiled at Seth and then rested her head against his chest. "Thank you."

He nodded his head and sighed, throwing his head back against the couch.

---

Moments later, once Seth and Summer were detached, Seth got up to take some things to the kitchen. Ryan noticed and followed him.

Once they were out of the room, Marissa sat down on the couch next to Summer who was about to fall asleep.

"Marissa? I'm sorry about earlier. I was a bitch."

"It's okay."

"I think I like Seth," she said, he head falling into Marissa's lap on the couch. "He makes me feel special and he lets me put my opinion in without trying to correct me if I'm wrong. He's a good kisser, too."

Little did Summer know, Seth was standing right behind the couch listening to everything she just professed.

Things were about to get a little more complicated.

**Okay, longest chapter I have ever written right there! I actually like this chapter a lot, so reviews would be awesome. I decided to bring in Ryan and Marissa for this chapter. I felt they did a good job in creating some drama. And that is not the last we will be seeing of Matt either! I have some things planned for him.**

**This chapter was not revised either, so there may be some errors in there. I apologize for those, I just wanted to get this up as fast as I could.**

**Let me know opinions and leave suggestions!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for everyone's reviews! So, I really wanted to get this chapter up because I have been meaning to write this and post it, but different things kept getting in the way. But, I am really _really _going to try and have regular posts. I had exams this week and things are just like way crazy. **

**And, to make things worse, I have heard through the rumor mill that Adam has caught little Kirsten Dunst's heart, and I am just a wee bit mad, alright, I'm really mad. Thoughts, anyone?**

**So, please leave me a nice, or hey, even a mean review, just to let me know your still reading.**

**Disclaimer: Pshhh.**

**Chapter 7**

"Summer," Marissa cooed into Summer's ear.

The snow had picked up the night that Ryan, Seth, Summer, and Marissa had had their own small Christmas party.

One that included way too much drinking.

And kissing.

"Sum, wake up," she said again, a little louder this time.

Summer's nose began to sniff the air around her and she slowly opened her eyes to see Marissa sitting on the bed with a mug of coffee in her hand.

"What the hell?"

"Yeah, its like almost noon, I thought that I'd get you up and let you know that the phone lines are working again, but it could still be a few days before we can get down."

"Oh, okay. Well my head is killing me, so, goodnight," she said, lying back down and taking the pillow to cover her ears.

"Not so fast, missy," Marissa said, getting up and pulling the blinds up in a fast motion.

"Please, I'm begging you. I need sleep," she said, her voice almost in a begging whisper.

"Fine. Thirty minutes. If your not up, I'm coming back. Seth is about to talk my eat off."

She smiled as she pulled the covers tighter around her. She could picture herself here- in the mountains, snow, friends. Summer had only known Marissa for a like a day and a half and she already felt like she knew her before birth.

'_Maybe we were friends in heaven,' she thought. 'Maybe we were all best friends in heaven.'_

Summer didn't know what they were when they were all together, but she knew that they had a connection. Sure, she was drunk for almost six hours the night before, but she still knew when people were having a connection.

After her thoughts about them being best friends, she decided that she didn't want to sleep anymore, but that she wanted to go talk to them.

She got up slowly and made her way to the bathroom where she spent five minutes brushing her teeth and hair and going to the bathroom. When she came back out, she saw the back silhouette of Marissa waiting for her on the bed.

"Hey," Summer said, beginning to make her way around the bed.

Marissa hadn't heard Summer's voice as she came out of the bathroom, but was rather surprised to feel the bed shift beside her.

She jumped slightly as she looked over at Summer. "Hey, sorry I didn't hear you."

"Seth talked both your ears off?" Summer joked.

"Practically. He won't stop talking about you."

"Really? What's he saying?"

"Just that he hopes you don't go back to Matt and how he likes having you here."

She smiled slightly, imagining him saying those things.

"Yeah. Ready to go to the kitchen?" Summer asked, standing up and making her way towards the door.

"Wait, Summer?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, anything."

"How do you know when you _may _have feelings for someone?"

"Tell me who were talking about!" Summer said giddily, jumping on the bed and sitting on her knees in front of Marissa.

"Ryan! I knew it!" she said again before Marissa got a chance to say it.

She blushed slightly but it immediately went away when Summer told her "don't blush."

"I think I might, but I'm not sure. I haven't felt this was in so long that I can't even remember what it feels to like someone."

"Really all it comes down to is how you feel. Do you feel safe when your with him? And does he always treat you like a princess? Like there is no one else in the room and you could just get lost in his eyes? You feel like, as long as your with this person, you'd be okay never breathing again. And, you feel amazing. But, you also feel that slight sliver of nervousness, like your not sure what may come from liking him. And you want to know so bad how he feels about you that you would do anything just to see him right now."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and all that princess shit may sound like _way _cliche, but it's not really. You should be with someone who always treats you like a princess."

"I feel that way."

"Then you should talk to Ryan."

---

Meanwhile, in the living room, Seth and Ryan sat talking about Summer and Marissa. Seth's turn had come to an end about two minutes prior and it was now Ryan's turn.

"I think I like her."

"Who? Cooper?"

Ryan gave Seth the sideways glare and then added a "yeah."

"I like Summer."

"Tell her."

"Tell her?! Man, are you crazy?"

"Your going to loose her if you don't do something about it. She's going to go home to California and your going to sit her day and night and wonder why you didn't say anything to her sooner."

"Dude, that's crazy. She's not leaving."

Approximately fourteen seconds later, Seth realized she was leaving. Back home to California and that he would possibly never see her again.

"Holy smokes Ryan, your right. She's leaving me. In like less than three weeks."

"Seth, she's not yours. You haven't given her any reason to stay. And she barely knows you."

"Hey, Ryan," Seth spat his name, trying to reiterate his point, "we made out."

"She was drunk."

"_Twice_," he said, sticking up two fingers.

"Whatever, man."

"Don't whatever me, I could go talk to her right now and tell her-"

"Tell who what?" Summer asked as she came into the family room, Marissa following sheepishly behind.

"Tell Emily that she has a massage on Tuesday," he said unevenly, racking his brain for the first thing he could think of.

"A massage?"

"Yes. It's something that we," Seth said, pointing between him and Ryan, "instructors get done frequently."

"Sure ya do, Cohen."

"We do!"

"And why wouldn't Emily know that she is scheduled for a message?"

"Geez, what are you, Detective Summer? No. I just thought that I would remind her because she told me to not let her forget since she missed her last one."

"Yeah, okay," she said and shot a face at Seth showing that she didn't believe him. "So, what is everyone doing today?"

"Well, besides the fact that were still can't get down the mountain, I guess we will just have to see what we wanna do," Ryan said, "but, right now, I'm going to go back to my house and get a few things for us to do. Marissa, do you want to come, or stay here?"

"I'll come," she said, standing up.

"Seth, want me to bring anything?"

"Yes, buddy, I would like you to bring the sunshine."

"Bring the sunshine?"

"Yes, sunshine and laughter."

"Oh, okay, I'll just go pick that up and bring it right over in the cooler."

"Aww, thanks Ryan, you don't have to do that for me."

"Cohen, shut up," Summer quipped back.

"Fine," he huffed, but then added, "yeah, bring Scrabble."

"Okay, we'll be back soon."

"Bye Coop, Ryan!" Summer called after them.

The conversation followed Ryan and Marissa right out the front door and left nothing but silence.

Silence for several minutes.

Seth started to notice that whenever they got in this non-speaking situation that it was never awkward, but _he_ always felt awkward for not talking. And, he also caught himself asking her for about the fiftieth time to tell him more about herself. But, he asked her again.

"Anything else about you I need to know?" he asked, smiling a little.

"You have asked me this like, twelve hundred times," she said, laughing.

"That many already?"

She gave him a sarcastic smile before saying, "What haven't I told you?"

"Tell me about when you were little. Your parents."

"My parents?" she sighed before continuing, "I never really knew my parents. I mean, I lived with them, but I never took the time to get to know them, and visa versa, I guess. So, I just clung to friends and hoped that they would get me through the shit I had to go through at home."

"At least you had people."

"I suppose. I only have a few good memories from my childhood that I remember. And, they always seemed to be around Christmas time."

"Is that your favorite time of year?"

"Yeah, only because I spent a lot of time with my family, other than that, I sort of didn't like the world."

"Oh."

"And then I left as soon as I could right after senior year of high school and traveled around for about a month and realized that I actually missed my mom and dad. Okay, so I missed the money, but I also think way deep down I missed them and knowing that they were there."

"You still talk to your mom and dad though, right?"

"I talk to my dad almost everyday, but my mom? Not so much."

"Did something happen?"

"Well, I came back from my short touring of the west coast and found that my mom was fucking her pilates instructor when my dad would be working late. So, I came home and I basically walked right in on them. I ran out of the house as fast as I could and got in my car. I remember seeing her running down the stairs after me and yelling my name, but I couldn't stop running."

Seth didn't know what to say, so, instead of saying anything, he hugged her.

"Cohen," she said laughing in him embrace, "it's okay. I've had so much time to think about this that it doesn't even phase me anymore."

"But, I just don't know how anyone can do that to someone."

"I was never close with my mom, but the fact that she even would do that to not only my dad, but to me too, that just sort of flew me over the edge. I felt like I had to go to another continent to get away from her shit and all of her lies. So, later that night after I drove around and down by the ocean, I came home to find my mom sitting on the couch. I will never forget her wearing her red robe. I don't know why I remember that, but it seemed so bold in our stark white living room. It was like she was.. I don't know.. almost like was meant to stand out that night. Her secret would become plain as day."

"I walked over to where she was standing and she stood up, too. She looked me in the eyes and told me that she was 'sorry and didn't know when I would becoming home.' So, instead of directly telling me that her cheating wasn't because of me, she gave me little clues that I picked up on."

"I don't think she cheated on your dad because of you."

"Seth, you don't even know her, okay."

"Okay, you're right, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just listen."

He nodded shyly at her and she continued.

"And right as she said that, I slapped her. I just hit her across the face and she hit me right back. I wasn't expecting that my own mother would hit me, but then again, I never thought that I would hit my mom either. I hurt her."

"Did she hurt you?"

"I don't remember what it felt like when she hit me. I was too mad to worry about if it hurt or not. I don't even think my eyes left hers. Her eyes began to fill with tears but mine stayed empty. I looked at her and told her that she was despicable and if she didn't leave the house with her stuff by the time my dad got home the next day from work, that I would tell him what happened. She left that night. My dad still doesn't know what happened."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, actually. Because of her leaving I became super close with my dad. And, if she hadn't left, I wouldn't be talking

to either of them right now. So, it's all good."

"From looking at you, not that I'm making judgement or anything, but if I looked at you I would never think that this stuff would have happened to you."

"It's okay, really. I have never told anyone that before."

"Your secret's safe."

"I guess I wasn't as over this as I thought," she said, wiping at her eyelids the tears that were about to fall.

"Your amazing, Summer. I don't know how you keep this all in," he said quietly, touching him forehead to hers.

Summer wanted to pull away and think about how soon all of this was happening, but she couldn't.

"A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. A dark ocean," she whispered and sealed the magnetic pull that her lips were having to his.

Just one kiss was all it took for Summer's thoughts to go insane.

There were so many possibilities that she started thinking about. Staying here. Being with him. Having snowboarding boys and skiing girls. It was all too much for her to think about.

She pulled away and asked him to tell her more about Audrey.

"Audrey?" he spoke softly.

"Yeah," she said, just as soft.

"What about her?"

"What do you know about her?"

"I know that I wasn't a good enough person to take care of her. And that I took the easy way out and left my family, my home. I want so badly to go back in time and stay with her. I want her more than anything."

"You still can."

He chose to ignore her comment.

" I think I would have been a good dad."

"You would have been an amazing dad," she told him, bringing his eyes to hers.

"What would you have done with her?"

"I would have taken her on my boat and to the diner on the pier. We could have had coffee runs while I was trying to do my homework. And we would have listened to music. She would have grown up loving my music. And she would have been irresistible. Her eyes would have been so big that just a move of her head to one side would make me do anything for her."

"Cohen," she cooed.

"And her name. I love it. I picked it out. Do you know what it means?"

"Tell me."

"Noble strength. I think she would have had a lot of strength."

"Yeah to have her dad whipped."

"That is true," he laughed.

"What's her middle name?"

"Lena."

"That's adorable! Audrey Lena Cohen. I love it."

"I'm glad."

The conversation seemed to slowly come to an end and all talking subsided for a second time that day. Without saying anything, Summer laid her head in Seth's lap and propped her feet on the arm rest at the end of the couch and they both closed their eyes.

---

Thirty minutes later, Ryan and Marissa trudged in through the front door and walked in on a dozing Seth and Summer.

"Damn it!" Ryan yelled as he was about to walk through the front door.

"Shh! Their sleeping. And they look so adorable we can't wake them up. Anyways, what happened?"

"I dropped Scrabble. Right in the snow. So, we probably lost like half of the letters."

"Ryan, gosh. Go find them, I'll take this stuff into the kitchen."

Marissa took food into the kitchen and just as she was about to put an extra bottle of Grey Goose into the freezer, it slipped out of her hands and shattered as it hit the floor.

She loudly cursed at herself and she bent down to pick up the broken glass.

Ryan heard the drop and rushed in and stood at the entrance to the kitchen with a smirk on his face as he watched Marissa pick up the pieces, talking to herself about how clumsy she was.

Good thing they brought another one.

---

Surprisingly, the breaking of the glass hadn't woken Seth or Summer up.

But, once they woke up, but not without a picture of them sleeping permanently stored in Marissa's cell phone, they made their way into the kitchen to find Ryan and Marissa playing a game of cards.

"Man, what the hell is that smell?" Seth asked to anyone willing to answer.

"What smell?" Ryan asked.

"Like vodka," Summer pitched in.

Marissa nervously laughed. "I sort of dropped a whole bottle of Grey Goose on the floor. Probably the remaining smell. Sorry, Seth."

"Fergie!" Summer shreiked.

"Excuse me?" Seth asked, looking to her.

"Oh you know,_ 'Grey goose got your girl feeling loose. Now I'm wishin' that I didn't wear these shoes,'" _Summer sang, the words coming to her from her high school days of listening to Fergie.

"Um, no."

"Oh my God, that reminds me! Do you remember that Justin Timberlake song, SexyBack?"

"Uh.. no?" Seth said again.

"Yes you do, it was out during our like senior year of highschool, remember, 'I'm bringing sexy back, yeah,'" she said, singing the lyrics to him.

"Oh yeah, I remember now. That was always on those crappy radio stations."

"Did you like that song?"

"No."

"Why not? Justin was _so_ hott."

"Because, that song was like totally not in relation to me at all. Sexy never left me. I mean, look at me."

She snorted at what he said and rolled her eyes, walking into the next room.

---

Three hours later and the four were nearing the end of an intense Scrabble game with Summer winning by a slight two points.

Seth was just about to put his final word down when the phone rang.

"Hold on," Seth said, making his way to the phone.

"Hello? Oh, hey Jeff. Yeah, two are here. Now? Well, okay. I'll see you soon."

"Who was that?" Summer asked.

"Jeff. He works down in the hotel and he was calling to tell me that they reopened the mountain. Families were getting worried when their family and friends weren't coming down so they demanded that they reopen the mountain for an hour to get everyone down. And, Summer and Marissa, they want you to come down so they can get a head count to make sure no one is missing."

"Great. I get to see Matt."

"I'll be here," Seth said, coming up beside her and sliding his arm around her waist.

"Yeah. Except, I think I need to do this on my own."

She took his hand and pulled him down the hall to her room.

"Come on," she said.

"What?"

"I just want to say thank you."

"For what?"

"This weekend. I've told you more about myself than I think anyone knows about me."

"Your welcome and thank you, too."

"Once I can get my stuff from the condo, I'm coming back here. Is that okay?"

"You can stay here and long as you need to," he said and bent down to place a kiss on her nose.

**Hey, thanks for reading. This is not edited because I just wanted to get it up and the fact that I am about to fall asleep. **

**This was sort of a filler chapter and sort of short, too. But, it did set up some things that will be very important in the future. I know everything seems all happy and junk now, but, I promise you, next chapter, drama will ensue.**

**Please, please, please review**!


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! Thanks to those who left me amazing reviews. I love reading them. If you want to make me smile, please leave a review. Now, starting this chapter, things are going to start picking up. Hope you'll stick with me, even after this chapter, hah. **

**Please leave a review! I got this up within 2 weeks, that calls for something.**

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: Hahah.**

"I'll be fine," Summer reassured Seth for like seventeenth time that morning.

"Call me right when you have your stuff together and I'll come help you with everything."

"Okay," she said, slightly letting out a chuckle.

"Okay, bye," she said, giving her a quick hug.

Seth walked away and left her standing in front of the condo. She was going to have to go in and get all of her things, all the while listening to Matt tell her she was being 'a bitch who didn't deserve his time.'

She was pumped to say the least.

She extracted her room key from her coat pocket and made her way up the steps. She reached the landing and saw all of Matt's ski equipment propped up against the wall, his boots air drying.

Walking into the room, she saw the place exactly how she had left it. Clean with a few dishes in the sink.

Summer walked into her room and saw that no one was here. She was relieved to be able to get her things and leave without him being there.

But, as soon as those thoughts ending, she heard the front door swing open and close with a loud bang.

Letting out a long, deep sigh, she prepared herself for him.

Matt sauntered into the bedroom and was surprised to see her sitting on the bed.

"Summer, baby! Your home!" he walked over her, hugging her.

"Yeah, um, no, I'm leaving," she told him, wiggling out of his grip.

"Where are you going?"

"To stay with Seth. He doesn't cheat on me."

"I didn't cheat on you."

Summer let out a frustrated laugh and continued packing her things into suitcases.

"When we get back to Los Feliz, I'm moving out, so you can have the place to yourself."

"Please don't be like this."

"Be like what?"

"A bitch. I did nothing."

"You. Cheated. On. Me. We. Are. Done."

"I was worried you had gotten killed or something!"

"Killed? Really."

"Yes, really. It was just say way of dealing."

"I never meant any of it. And before I knew it, this random and I were back here and all I remember is waking up with her next to me."

"Why were you even talking to her?"

"I was at this bar and she came and started talking to me."

"Why in the hell were you at a bar? If you were even the least but worried about me, you would have come looking for me!"

"I couldn't! They wouldn't let anyone up the mountain. Sum, I'm sorry."

"Please, give me another chance."

"No."

"Please. I will do anything to make it up to you."

"Matt, no. You cheated on me. Cheated. That is a big word."

"I love you."

"Don't. Just don't."

"I'm being serious, I love you."

"I kissed Cohen. Still love me?"

"You kissed him? How many times?"

"A lot."

"Yes I still love you. I mean, now we can be even. I kissed Shelly and you kissed Seth. It's okay."

"You had sex with Shelly, that's not okay," she spoke to him like he was a three year old.

"Please, please, give me another chance. I will do anything for you. "

She could feel herself breaking, his bright eyes were catching up to her dark ones and she could feel herself spiraling.

---

"Hey," Seth said, walking over to Emily.

He had just walked away from leaving Summer to gather her things. He figured she would take a while, so he decided to find her.

"Hey, long time no see. Where have you been?"

"At my house. We were snowed in."

"We?"

"Yeah, Summer and me and then Ryan and Marissa came down and stayed with us for like two nights or something."

"That's fun."

"Yeah, it was. Where were you?"

"Stranded in the hotel with a bunch of people. It was hell."

"Sounds like it. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I've never really talked to you about anything like this before, and I know we've been friends for a long time, but.."

As Seth began to say this, Emily's hopes about him asking her out were very high.

Since before she could remember, she had always been attracted to him. He was funny, adorable, and totally chill. Sure he had his moments, but she liked him, and she hoped he liked her too.

".. I think I'm in love with Summer."

"Oh," she breathed, disappointment noticeable.

"Yeah, I mean, I have never felt this way about anyone before," he said, looking into her eyes, "it's exciting."

"Then tell her."

"Isn't it a little soon?"

"Not if it's real."

Even though she was disappointed, she had always given good advice and that is exactly why Seth had come to her.

"Yeah, okay."

"Now, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"I like you."

"Uh, you, you what now?"

"I like you. But, you love Summer, so go tell her."

---

Seth had started making his way back to Summer's condo when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Seth?"

"Yeah, hey Summer, are you ready to go?"

"Um, I actually, well.."

"Your staying with him."

"He's sorry."

"He's sorry? Summer! He cheated on you. I don't know what kind of guy you want, but no girl should want that."

"Seth, I have been with him for seven years, I know when he is being serious, and right now, I know. If I didn't, I would not be staying. I own him my trust."

"You owe him nothing."

"I own him trust."

"This isn't you, Summer."

"You don't know me, Cohen."

"I do and you are this fun, amazing girl who I have grown to love over five days."

'_Did he just say what I think he said?' she thought to herself._

"Excuse me?"

"I said that I have grown to love you. I love you, Summer."

"Seth," she sighed, closing her eyes, "you hardly know anything about me."

"You were just saying how I knew more about you than anyone."

"Maybe that's what I felt in that moment, but right now, I owe my heart to Matt. And you don't love me. You only like the idea of me."

"You owe your heart to someone who will hold your heart in their hands and never let you down. Even if that person is not me, you deserve someone great. Please don't do this," be begged.

"We had fun, but we have to think reality here, Seth."

"Reality? Summer, who cares. He hurt you."

"We're working things out."

Since talking to Seth, she started to realize that what she was saying was only trying to make herself okay with the problem. She knew that the things that happened between her and Seth and Matt and Shelly were not fixable with only a few words, but she had to be okay with that.

Things with Matt would never be the same and she knew that in her heart, but her head was telling her a different story.

Right now, she had her angel and her devil sitting on her shoulders. The angel telling her that Seth could make her happy, while the devil told her that she had been with Matt for so long that she would be stupid to walk away from a relationship that had meant something to her.

"This is for the best. I'll see you around, Seth."

"Summer, no, stop. I'm coming over!"

"No, don't."

"We have to talk about this."

"We just did. I'll call you soon. Bye, Seth."

She went with the devil.

---

He saw her standing with Matt in from of the ski lift. Through the five days she was with him, he could tell when she was being genuine. But, now, she was putting on a facade of happiness.

He wished he could see her being genuine again.

She looked up and for a second thought she saw him. Summer looked over again and she realized that she hadn't seen an illusion of his standing form, but that it was really him.

Seth looked miserable and even from far away, she could see the pleading in his eyes asking for her to come over to him.

And that was the last thing that she wanted to do. But, after the five days that she had spent with him, she couldn't not go, especially when his eyes were piercing a whole in her heart.

In return, she followed her heart instead of her head.

"Hey, baby, I'll be right back," she said, turning to Matt, "I'm really thirsty."

"Oh okay, where should I meet you?"

"Take the lift up and then come down and we can meet in front, right here. That good?"

"Yeah."

For about eight seconds she tried to mentally prepare herself to talk to him. She had basically told him that she didn't want anything to do with him.

Summer slowly made her way over, skis propped on her shoulder, and her ski boots making her walking awkward and much too slow for her fast pace.

"What?" she asked abruptly when she reached him.

"What?" he asked her back.

"You wanted me to come over here, now tell me what you wanted."

"If I remember correctly, I didn't use any form of body language to get you over here. No wave, no pointer finger call, no nothing."

"Yeah, ya did."

"Uh, no, I didn't."

"Why are you being a jerk?"

"Why are you being a bitch?"

"Why am I being a b-," her eyes got bigger, "I cannot believe you just called me a bitch! You're a bastard!"

"Oh man, I felt that one."

"Why are you such a smart ass."

"Why are you a ditz?"

"Don't even start with me, Seth Cohen. You're the one that can't even get a girl. So you knocked one up when you were nineteen and she had your baby and left. I would have left too."

Seth just stood there, everyone around him fading into nothingness, while he wondered if she really would have left him had she been in that situation.

His eyebrows gave a more prominent etch to his face and he could feel tears forming over him eyes. He then looked right into her eyes, silently telling her that this conversation was over and that if he never saw her again, then he would be okay, even if he was lying to them both.

Seth didn't know wether to run away or cry. He chose neither, but continued standing there, wondering how someone could say something like that.

"Bye, Summer," he whispered.

"No, wait!" she pleaded "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I didn't mean to say that. I don't even mean that. I don't know what they even meant."

"You don't know anything about me!"

"Yes I do. I know you more than I know Matt and I have known him for like ten years!"

"How could you say that to me?"

"I didn't mean-"

"Would you really leave me?"

"Were not together, Seth."

"But if we were."

"I don't know. I've never been in that situation."

"Would I really be that awful to spend your life with? For any girl?"

"No," she whispered.

Seth started noticing that people were walking all around him He started walking away and she followed him over to where their conversation would not be so public.

He found a quiet spot underneath a snow ridden tree and looked at her again.

"Am I really that bad?"

"No, Seth, your not."

"Will I be alone forever?"

"No!" she screamed.

He looked taken back, but said nothing.

"Your perfect, too perfect. I don't think that any girl would ever doubt being with you."

"Except you."

"I'm with Matt."

"He cheated on you!"

"It meant nothing. He was only worried about me."

"Only worried about you my ass. He was only worried about you finding out and then you did and did nothing about it."

"Stop it. You have no right to judge him."

"I think this conversation is over now, Summer."

"Well, I think this conversation is just starting. Now, you wanted me to come over here, just tell me what you wanted."

"I did not want you to come over here, and even if I did for like three seconds, I don't know why. Now, just why did you think I

wanted you to come over?" his voice kept the attitude.

"I don't know why, but I could tell."

"How?" he spoke slowly and forcefully.

"Your eyes, Cohen, I could see them like all the way over there," she said, pointing to where she previously stood at the bottom of the lift.

"Well you must have seen wrong."

"No, I didn't."

She didn't talk. She only looked deeper into his eyes- the eyes that kept so many secrets. The eyes that told her about him.

"What is your problem?" she asked him.

"You."

"Besides me."

"Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"You wanna know? Like really know?"

"Yes!"

" You and him. Together. He cheated on you, Summer. And you know about it. He doesn't even love you. He knows nothing

about you. I know more about you than anyone I know. _Anyone_. Does he know that you only like pancakes when you are somewhere when it snows? Or that you don't like bananas because your dad gave them to you so much when you were little that you got sick of them. Or that you don't like the smell of lilac. Does he even listen to you hen you want something? Is he there bringing you soup when your sick? Does he do those things for you, Summer?"

By now, she had started crying. He knew more about her than her own boyfriend did. But, she had to learn to accept that she had Matt and not the boy standing looking at her.

"No, he probably doesn't, but I can't help that. You know what the worst part about this situation is?"

"What?"

"I like you. A lot. Fuck, a whole lot. But I can't. It's too hard. It has made my supposed drama free vacation hell."

"Oh good, I made your vacation hell. Great to know."

"If you would let me finish, you would know what I was going to say. Now, shush," she added, raising a finger to her lips. "It's

been hell because I can't have you. I want to, so bad, but I can't. I have Matt and he told me everything and that he is sorry. He's really sorry."

With that extra 'he's really sorry', Summer know that she was only trying to tell herself that he really _was _sorry.

"So, just know, that if things were different, then we might have been able to have something. But, just for now, I just.. I.. I need you to stay away."

"Summer."

"Please.. just go."

"Bye, Summer," he spoke just above a whisper.

"Goodbye, Seth," she whispered to his retreating form and saw his dark hair get lost in the crowd.

---

Two days later and Summer had not gotten out of her bed. She told Matt that she was sick and that she didn't feel up to skiing, but that he should go anyways.

She got up and made her way over to Matt's laptop that he brought with him.

Summer opened the internet and made her way to the search bar to search for address and phone numbers.

Slowly typing in "Sandy and Kirsten Cohen", she knew that there, at that precise moment, there was not a chance she would back out of the promise she made to herself.

**Hey, thanks for reading. So, let me know what you thought on this chapter. I'm not sure what I think, so maybe your reviews can help. Suggestions are welcome. **

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Thanks again for the reviews. They mean a lot. I am leaving for Colorado tomorrow, Aspen actually, which is ironic because that's where my story is based. I'm going skiing! And I won't be back until next Monday night so I wanted to get this up before I left. Please leave an awesome (or not so awesome, your choice) review for me to come back to!**

**Enjoy. Read. Review. Please.**

**Disclaimer: Soon no one will own it. Sobbb.**

**Chapter 9**

The days seemed to go slower and slower as each day passed, yet there could not be enough hours in the day for Seth Cohen. After that argument he had had with Summer, he chose seclusion as a way of getting over it.

He didn't understand how quickly he had fallen in love with her.

'_Was it love?' he caught himself asking himself for the hundredth time that day. 'It can't be.'_

But, it was. And deep down he knew. But, he was not going to interfere. If she didn't want to be with him, but would rather be with sleazy ass Matt, then he wasn't going to stop her.

It was January 2nd and Seth was making his way up through the small village that the ski resort had recreated to match the one out in Switzerland. Small, expensive ski and gift shops lined the cobblestone street of downtown Aspen, and small cafes and restaurants were settled in every possible place.

The sun had set about an hour prior and the lights had just flickered on, making everything seem more romantic than it already was.

His new years resolution was to try and find peace within himself. To not follow what everyone else was doing and try and find someone who he know would be there for him, and him for her, even if her name was not a season. And with two days of the new year under his belt, things were not going in the direction that he had planned.

A few seconds ago, he could have sworn that he heard someone calling his name, but when he turned around and didn't see anyone, he shrugged it off.

"Seth!" Emily shouted as she ran up from behind him.

"Oh, hey, Emily."

"You are like seriously deaf. I have been calling you and running trying to catch up with you for like five minutes."

"Guess you should have run a little faster."

"What's wrong with you?" she asked, attitude evident.

"Nothing."

"Tell me, now."

"You don't have the slightest idea?"

"I'm guessing it's Summer related. I mean, I have never in my life seen you more happy and then

depressed all in a couple hours."

"Well, you guessed right. She decided to go back with Matt. She 'owed her heart to Matt' and I 'didn't love her, I only liked the idea or her'. Which really isn't true."

"Well did you tell her she was wrong?"

"Yes."

"Did you fight it or just walked away when she told you to leave."

"I fought it," he scoffed, "just not very long."

"And?"

"And then I left. What else was I supposed to do. She said she didn't want to see me anyone."

"You were supposed to tell her that you would fight for her."

"She doesn't want me to fight for her."

---

"Summer, baby, are you feeling up to getting some dinner?"

She still hated that nickname. _Baby. _

'_Whoever started that whole name calling of baby had to have had something seriously wrong _

_with them.' she thought to herself._

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me change."

"Okay, so we can leave in like an hour?"

"Yeah that's fine."

"Awesome," he said, coming over to her and giving her a kiss, one that she was unresponsive to.

"What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting like a bitch all day. Actually, for the past like three days."

"No I haven't."

"Fine, you haven't."

"You're the one acting like nothing has happened over the past week and a half. We have to talk about it."

"We already did, and I'm not going to talk about it again."

"Why not? I had something major happen to me over those few days."

"Like?"

"Like, I met a new friend."

'_Lame Sum, lame,' she thought to herself._

"You met a new friend?" he laughed as if that was the stupidest thing he had ever heard, "cool."

"Yeah, it is _cool_. Her name is Marissa. And she actually listens to me, unlike some people."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she listened to me without judging me. And she tried to help me get through stuff.

Like when? Hmm. Lets see. Oh yeah, I remember! When I heard you having sex with some skanky hoe bag on the phone!" she screamed.

All Matt did was laugh.

She looked at him as if she was about to cry. "Why are you such a jackass?! You always have to be right and all of a sudden you think I am some piece of trash who doesn't have any feelings. I do have feelings and their not with you anymore."

"What?"

"Did you ever even care about me? Ever?"

"Yes, I still care about you," he said, coming over to her, attempting a hug which she pushed away.

"If you still cared about me, you wouldn't have had Shelly in this bed," she said, pointing to he master bed in the condo.

"That's all in the past."

"No, it's not!"

"How about you get dressed, well go get something to dinner, and pretend this never happened."

"How about, this did happen. But, I'm only getting dressed because I haven't eaten in like two days. That is the only reason I'm going to get something to eat with you. Got it?"

"Summer, I care about you."

"Not now, Matt."

"I'm sorry."

"I said not now!" she said, walking into the bathroom and slamming the door.

Forty five minutes later Summer and Matt were making their way out of the condo and down to their rental car.

"Where are we going to eat?" she asked him.

"Wherever you want."

"Just drive and we'll find somewhere."

"Okay."

They drove for about ten minutes and were just making their way into downtown Aspen when

Summer spotted a small café, Mezzaluna.

"Stop!" she screeched.

"What?!"

"Right there. That looks good."

"That's what you screamed 'stop' about?"

"Yes," she stated.

He parked the car and they got out and started making their way to the restaurant.

"It's freezing."

"Yeah, it is," Matt said, taking off his coat and putting it over her shoulders.

Matt reached down and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

She almost pulled away, but she left her hand in his.

At that moment, she felt like things were back to the way they were before they ever came on this trip to Aspen. She wanted it to feel like things were the same, that she had not kissed Seth, that she had not found out Matt had cheated on her, that she had not questioned their relationship, that she had never met Seth.

They continued walking, passing a few couples on their way there.

Summer looked down the sidewalk and saw two people sitting on a park bench looking deep in conversation. The dark brown, moppy head stood out immediately and at that moment, she knew there was no turning back.

Her walking slowed down so she could gather her thoughts in case she had to stop and talk to him. They had almost made it to the bench and passed it, when Seth stood up and looked to see who was walking behind him.

"Summer," Seth spoke, not expecting her.

"Seth," she said shortly.

"How are you?"

"Fine, hi, Emily."

"Hi, Summer. Who's this?"

"This is Matt. Matt, this is Emily and Seth."

"So Summer was with you all week?" Matt asked, looking Seth up and down.

"So you were with Shelly all week?" Seth asked him right back.

"Seth, stop it," Emily warned him, grabbing his arm.

"What the hell is your deal, Cohen?" Summer asked him.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her and his eyes told her everything.

If his eyes could outwardly talk, he would be telling her, " Don't be with him. You know what he

did to you. Your strong enough to get away from him. Come with me."

"Summer, can I talk to you?" Seth asked her.

"No, you can't," Matt said, stepping infront of Summer.

"Matt, I can handle myself. Yeah, we can talk."

They walked away leaving Matt and Emily in an awkward conversation.

"Why are you really doing this?"

"I'm doing this because he loves me."

"He doesn't love you! He doesn't even deserve you."

"Seth, please, stop."

"Summer, you're no picnic, all right? You're a spoiled little brat, even, but under that, you're the

most amazingly, astounding, wonderful girl, woman that I've ever known."

"Seth, I..."

"No, let me try and get this out. You're amazi- I'm not an idiot, I know how the world works. I've got ten bucks in my pocket, right here, right now, I have nothing to offer you but love- a love that is never going to burn out. I understand that you're scared.. But I'm too involved now. I can't turn away without knowing you'll be all right... That's all I want."

Summer could feel her tears glaze her eyes and she whipped her hand up to stop them from falling. She her hand was still whipping away the tears, Seth reached up and placed his hand over hers.

"Well, I'm fine... I'll be fine... really."

"Really? I don't think so. He's got you trapped, Summer. And you're gonna die if you don't break

free. Maybe not right away because you're strong but... sooner or later that fire that I love about you, Summer... that fire's gonna burn out..."

"It's not up to you to save me, Cohen."

"You're right... only you can do that."

He walked back over to Emily and asked her if she was ready to go. She nodded and they both walked down the street, Seth occasionally glancing back at her.

She hadn't moved from where she was standing when Matt came over to her.

"What was that about?" he asked her.

"Nothing, lets just go eat," she told him, not once looking at his face.

"Oh, okay. We're almost there."

He placed his arm back over her shoulders, and right then, she found she didn't want his hand

there anymore.

---

"So what did you say to her?"

"Stuff."

"Seth, tell me!"

"I don't want to talk about it, okay? I just want to be here right now."

"In the middle of the street?"

"Yeah."

"Want to go back to my place? It's only like five blocks down."

"Yeah, sure."

"Awesome."

They finally made it back to Emily's apartment that overlooked Aspen mountain.

It was a nice sized apartment. The living room had dark red walls with a big, black, leather couch and a glass coffee table in the middle with a TV built into the white shelving unit. Books were randomly placed on shelves and DVD's were placed sporadically on the shelves and underneath the coffee table. The kitchen was small, but had all top notch appliances with a small breakfast nook that looked over the mountain and small town as well.

"Nice place," he said to her.

"Thanks, I like it. Want something to drink?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"No, I'm good."

"Alright. Sit down, get comfortable."

Seth nodded and took his coat off placing it on the coat rack by the front door.

She came back in shortly and sat next to him on the couch, a tall glass of wine in her hand.

"You sure you don't want anything?"

"Actually, do you have any more of that?"

She laughed, "yeah, want some?"

"Yeah."

"I'll be right back."

"Thanks."

She came back in again and handed him the glass.

"So, you wanna talk about it?"

"I just don't know what she sees in someone that cheats on her. She could do so much better."

"Seth, you have to let her make her own mistakes. If she doesn't see his cheating as a huge red flag, then she has some figuring out to do. It's not up to you to save her."

She moved in closer to him, their knees touching.

"That's exactly what she said to me. I'm too involved to not save her, Em."

"Your going to have to step back, let her save herself."

"She's too far in now to let anyone save her, let alone herself. She doesn't know what she

wants."

"I know what I want," Emily said, moving her face closer to his. "I want you, Seth."

She closed the space between them and kissed him. He kissed her back.

Seth was confused. He knew what he wanted and it sure as hell wasn't Emily. But, it felt good to be wanted by someone, and if that someone was Emily then so be it.

Their kissing continued to get heavier and soon Emily's shirt was strewn over the couch and Seth's shirt was soon coming off. Emily tugged it over his head and moved her legs to straddle him. Her hands quickly moved to his belt buckle and strategically undid it, pulling it out through the belt loops.

Seth's hands went to her skirt and he unbuttoned the top button, inching it down over her hips, her black leggings coming off shortly after.

Emily's hands ran through his hair and she moaned into his mouth. "Want to go into my room?"

"Yeah," she said back.

He slowly lifted her up, her mouth still attached to his and her legs wrapped around him tightly.

His closed eyes were making it difficult to see which direction he was going in, but soon they made their way to her bed. He put her down on the bed first, not disconnecting himself from her.

"Do you have.. you know?"

"No, I don't."

"Don't worry, I do."

"You do?"

"Yeah, in the night stand drawer."

She kissed him again and he kissed her back, again.

He didn't want to think right now, so he reached into the drawer wordlessly.

He did not want to think about tomorrow.

---

The next day, Summer had a ten-thirty massage scheduled at a small shop in Aspen. Her alarm woke her up at eight am that morning so that she could wake up slowly.

She glanced at her cell phone and at that same moment, a call came through from an area code that she did not recognize.

As the phone continued to ring, she almost didn't answer it, but then for some reason, she did.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hello, is Summer there?"

"This is Summer."

"Oh, hello Summer. I got your letter in the mail and I thought that I would call you myself."

"Oh my god," she whispered.

"What, what's wrong?"

"You're Kirsten Cohen."

"Yes, hello. I just wanted to call you and tell you to stop contacting me and my family."

"What? Why?"

"Because, you have no right. Seth left us almost eight years ago with his daughter and if he

wanted a relationship with any of us, he would have tried by now."

"He's scared, Mrs. Cohen."

"He should have been scared. But not so scared that he ran away, leaving us with a newborn."

"He thought it was best for the baby, to be raised by two people who would be able to support her."

"Well, it's too late for that now, he left."

"He's good, he's doing good. He's happy," she said, although she wasn't so sure he was happy.

"Excuse me?"

"I know you wanted to know how he was, but you didn't want to ask. How's Audrey?"

"How do you know about Audrey?"

"He talks about her a lot. He misses her so much, Mrs. Cohen."

"She's fine. She asks about Seth sometimes."

"She knows about him?"

"Of course. What kind of person do you think I am?"

"I was just asking," she spoke softly.

"We have pictures up of him all around the house."

"That's nice that she knows about him."

"Yeah, she deserves to know her father, or at least what he looks like. Where is he, Summer?"

She didn't know if she should be sharing all of this information with a woman who she had never known, and would probably never know. Now, she thought that she should not have gotten a hold of her at all. This was Seth's business after all.

"He's in Colorado, Aspen, to be more specific. He misses you."

"He does?"

Kirsten started crying. For the first time in eight years, someone who was in contact with Seth

was in contact with her.

"Are you his girlfriend?"

"Um, no, I'm not. We're only friends."

"Oh, you seem like a sweet girl, Summer. He's lucky to have you in his life."

"Yeah, real lucky," she mumbled the last part. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think that you could e-mail me a picture of Audrey? I could give it to Seth."

"I think that he should be asking me for that."

"Please."

"What's your e-mail? I can scan in our Christmukkah card that we just sent out a couple weeks ago."

Summer gave Kirsten her e-mail and she promised to send it to her later that day.

They got off the phone and Summer promised to call her again. She looked at the clock and saw

that it was almost nine. She went into the closet and got out a pair of jeans, a green top, and a cropped cream sweater.

As her thoughts were still on Kirsten and Seth, she left the condo and headed to her appointment.

On her way out, she had noticed that Matt was not around, but dismissed any thoughts about it

and continued on her way.

---

Seth woke up with Emily next to him, the sheets all scrunched up.

'_What the hell did I do?' she asked himself, immediately regretting what happened the previous night. _

Emily began to stir next to him, but she went right back to sleep.

He slowly got up out of the bed, found his clothes, and went out to the living room to get his coat.

He looked in once more and made his way out the door of the building, the frost biting air hitting his face.

---

Summer's massage had ended and it was just around noon. She still had a little while before she was supposed to meet Matt at the condo for some afternoon skiing.

She walked along the streets looking at the shop names.

Prada.

That was one store that Summer recognized. She made her way inside, the dark cherry stained wood holding racks of clothing came into view. She collected a few items are tried them on.

She paid for a cocktail dress, jeans, and a new shirt.

Summer walked outside and noticed that she had not eaten anything. Looking across the street, she saw a small café tucked away between two ski shops. She went in and got a vanilla latte and a muffin and continued walking up and down the street.

She came upon this small Italian restaurant and walked up to the door and looked at the menu.

Once she was done looking at the menu, she slowly walked past the large window that gave light to the front tables inside and before she knew it, she was face-to-face with Matt and sitting beside him was some girl. A girl that wasn't her. His hand was placed over hers and they were both laughing.

Matt looked outside and saw her staring at him. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights and he stood up, running out the front of the door, trying to catch her.

She was already gone.

---

Summer only had once place that she could go.

She went back to the condo and got her clothes, stuffing them in random suitcases, tears clouding her vision. Before she decided to call for a cab, she went onto the computer and printed off the Christmukkah picture that Kirsten had sent of her, Sandy, and Audrey.

She called a cab and sat outside waiting for them to come. They finally arrived and she told them to drive up the only road that went up the mountain because she did not know the address. The cab driver did as she said and began to go up.

Shortly after they got to the top, she spotted his house, tucked away into the mountain surrounded by other small houses just like his.

She rang the doorbell and when he answered, she flung her arms around him.

"I'm sorry," she cried.

"Summer, stop. Why are you here?"

"I need to stay with you."

"You can't."

"I need to, Seth. You were right, I was stupid and he doesn't love me. I want to be here, with

you."

"Summer, I can't. Your going to have to go somewhere else, it's too much to have you here knowing your leaving in less than two weeks."

He closed the door and Summer fell to her knees in tears.

Seth Cohen had just shut her out.

She sat there, in the snow, and cried.

In a week and a half, her world had come crashing down because of one person.

**Hey! So, there it is. I liked this chapter and I hope you like it too. Also, just thought that I would promote the supposed ending song for The O.C. finale– Any Other Day by Mika. It is like the perfect song for the finale. And through the lyrics, it's probably going to be in an ending scene with Ryan. Very good song, so listen to that. Man, only two weeks until the finale. It's going to be a very sad day. **

**Anyways, please, please leave me a good review to come back to!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys. Thanks so much for the reviews. Colorado was fun, but as a result, I was really behind on school and lacrosse season just started and that's everyday and I'm going to stop complaining. But, basically I am extremely sorry for the wait and please stick with me through this story. And for the next couple of months my life is going to be crazy and very busy, but I am trying my hardest to get these chapters up for you. Again, thanks for the reviews, and leave me something to make me smile!**

**Oh, yeah! Almost forgot to mention this, but what did everyone think about the finale?! I thought it was a perfect ending for the perfect show. Leave your thoughts.**

**And, this chapter has some sexual material in it, so just thought I would put that warning up.**

**One more thing, I have been in a very emotional mood recently for many reasons, so I am thinking about writing a very depressing one shot next weekend. So, if anyone is needing to read something sad, look out for that.**

**I'm sure that made you very happy, hahah. On with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Josh's name is still on it, but no one owns it anymore. Sob.**

**Chapter 10**

Summer's suitcases sat piled on Seth's front porch. Her slouching body was perched on the bags as she sat, still pounding on the door. She did not know how long she had been there, but she knew from how red her hands were, that she had been there for a while.

She continued to pound on his front door as the snow kept its decent from the skies.

'_Fucking snow. It's always snowing here,' she thought angrily_

Summer had thought that the more she pounded on Seth's door demanding that he let her come in, the more likely it would be that he would actually open the door. But, judging from that past hour or so that she had been outside, her thoughts were proving her wrong.

"God damn it, Seth. Open the door!" she screamed, her voice being drowned out from the snow, "Now!"

"What is your deal, woman? I told you an hour ago to find somewhere else to stay but all I have heard is your incessant pounding. It was giving me a headache."

"Good. It should have been giving you a headache. I was out here in the freezing cold and the snow while your in your warm house, probably with a fire going."

"No one said you had to stay."

"I have no where else to go. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"You could just leave you know. Get on an airplane and leave. Go home to your little expensive house and your expensive car. I don't care."

She looked at him with such an intense glare that she thought she might slap him right then and there. But she didn't. She turned around right then, attempted to pick up her bags and walk down the stairs.

Her picking up the bags turned more into kicking them down the stairs and her slashing her cell phone out of her purse demanding a taxi be sent up right that millisecond.

As she prepared to stomp back up the three wooden porch steps to kick down the last bag, she noticed that it was not on the snow anymore, but being held by Seth.

"Give me my bag."

"No."

Give it to me now."

"No."

"Seth, I swear I will punch you."

"I know you will, but I'm not giving it back."

"I'm leaving like you told me to. You just said to go home like two minutes ago. I'm finally listening to you, now please, just let me go," she cried.

Summer was tired.

Tired of not being loved.

Tired of being loved.

"Summer, stop, please."

"Seth, just give me the bag. I'll be out of your way for good and I won't bother you anymore. Your getting what you wanted, so let yourself have what you want."

"I didn't mean that. You know I don't want you to leave."

"I'm tired, I'm cold, I need to get out of this place right now, so please, let me go."

"If you really wanted to go, you would have left before I told you to. You would have left a long time ago, Summer. Come inside."

"I don't understand you. One minute your telling me to leave and then your telling me to stay. Make up your damn mind."

"Will you stop with the cuss words?"

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Come inside. The guest room is still made up from when you were here. Your going to get a cold if you stay out here any longer."

"Huh, wonder who's fault that is. I probably already have a cold, Bastard."

He rolled his eyes, "come on."

"Get my bags," she demanded and walked inside.

Seth began walking down the steps and retrieved the bags that where haphazardly strew on the snow ridden street, but, not before mumbling, "women, frickin complicated."

---

It was now eight o'clock and Summer had just gotten out of the shower. She slowly wrapped the towel around her body and

walked into the room to pick out some clothes to wear.

She turned on the TV that was sitting on the dresser and began flipping through channels.

Seth and her had not have that much communication that night. She seemed distant to him, but he didn't say anything.

Summer continued looking through the channels for anything decent to watch.

'_Finally. _Breakfast at Tiffanys_.' she thought as she left it on and walked into the bathroom._

After brushing her hair, teeth, and putting on sweat pants and a sweatshirt, she climbed in bed and covered her body with the warm blankets.

Her thoughts were all over the board until her thoughts started to become unconscious. She started to slip into a sleeping state,

but she jumped when she heard a loud knock on her bedroom door.

Her body bolted up and she gave the knocker permission to enter.

"Hey," he said, whispering.

"Uh, hi."

"Thirsty?"

"Yeah, sure."

He gave her a slight smile and brought over two cups of steaming hot cocoa, "it's hot, be careful."

She was about to give him a smartass remark about her being a "big girl", but chose to not say anything at all.

"So, how are you?"

"Fine, you?"

"Fine, fine," he finished lamely.

"Cool."

"This is really awkward. Why is this awkward?"

Summer only raised her eyebrows.

"So, how's Emily?"

Seth closed his eyes. He was doing everything in his power to forget about anything happening with Emily and Summer was the last person he wanted to know what had happened.

"She's fine.. you know, good."

"She still working at the resort?"

"Yeah. So, how's Matt?"

Summer raised her eyebrows again and sent him a questioning glance.

"Stupid question."

"I'd say."

Just as Summer was about to say something else in response to what Seth has just said, she heard her cell phone ring from the night stand.

The called ID told her that it was someone calling from California. She felt like she had seen that number before, but couldn't

place it.

"Hold on," she told Seth, lifting up a finger to signal that she would be a minute.

"Hello?" Summer asked into the phone.

"Hello, Summer? It's Kirsten."

"Oh, my gosh, hi. How are you?" she asked into the phone as she walked out into the hallway.

She realized that she had yet to tell Seth that she was in contact with his mom and she also noticed that she had not told him about the picture that was recently the only thing on her mind.

"I'm alright, yourself?"

"Hanging in there. Thanks for e-mailing that picture. I was going to give that to Seth soon."

"Oh, your welcome."

There was silence for about ten seconds before Summer asked, "do you need anything?"

"Well, I was just calling to see if Seth had seen the picture yet, but since he hasn't, it's fine."

"I can give it to him and have him call you back? Or I can call back," she hesitated before adding, "he knows that I have been talking to you, so I'll talk to him and report back to you."

As soon as she finished talking, she wished that she could backtrack everything that she had just said and never lied to Kirsten.

She didn't even know this woman, and here she was, lying to the mother of the boy who she was staying with who didn't even

know she was in communication with his mom.

"But, how about I cal you back later, and we can talk some more?"

"That sounds fine, Summer, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She walked back into the bedroom with the phone gripped tightly between her hands.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just work calling."

"Oh, okay. Do you want to watch a movie out in the living room? We could light a fire, we already have our hot chocolate, I think were pretty good to go for a night in."

"Yeah, totally. I'll be right out."

"Cool."

---

Their night progressed gradually and instead of their attention focusing on the movie, they were more focusing on what the other was doing. They had both talked a lot that night- more about their childhood, ambitions, getting married.

Their conversation once again went back to Seth's daughter and how he wished that he had never left.

"I even had a ring picked out."

"You were going to propose to her?" Summer asked shocked.

"Well yeah, I mean, she was having my baby. And, I thought I loved her. But, I guess it was a love that I was able to get over."

"Your fine now though, right?"

"Oh yeah, I'm one hundred percent over it. The only thing that I wish I knew was why she left in the first place. I'm sure she was scared, but we could have worked something out."

"I'm sorry, Cohen."

"I'm just worried for the day that I will finally have to face Audrey. I don't know if I ever will be able to. I think she might just be better off never knowing me and living with people who will always be there for her, unlike me, who left her. I'm just like her mom. I just left."

"No, Seth, don't say that. She deserves to know you. I'm sure she asks about you," she said, remembering an earlier conversation

with Kirsten, "and, your going to have see her. You want to know your daughter, right?"

"I don't know."

No other words were exchanged that night.

Only the television that was showing the last minutes of _Breakfast at Tiffanys _and the crackling of the fire were the only sounds being made.

As the credits from the movie rolled, Seth reached for the remote and pressed the off button. They both sat there in the dark, this

time, the only sound was the dying out fire. Before they knew it, they were both lulling into a deep sleep, a sleep where their bodies were tangled across the couch.

---

The next morning came quickly as Seth's eyes peered open to show the same position that he was in from the previous night.

Summer's head laid in his lap and he found his hand resting on her thigh. He quickly lifted his arm off of her and attempted to lift her small head and place it in the spot that he has previously been occupying.

"Seth?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Hey, I have to get to work, I'm already running late, you sleep. I'll call you later."

"Yeah, okay, bye," she whispered, her head falling right back onto the couch.

He smiled at how cute she looked and went into the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead.

Thirty minutes later, and he was out the front door, bagel in hand, and off to work.

He walked in and went straight to his locker to get his things that he kept in there from the previous day.

Seth jumped when he felt two arms snake around from his back and a head up against his back in between his shoulder blades.

"Hey, Cohen."

For a split second, he thought that the person behind him was Summer. She was the only person that he knew called him Cohen,

but from looking down at the short, bitten fingernails painted in a dark red, that it was defiantly not Summer.

"Emily, hey, what are you doin' there?" he asked unevenly.

"Just saying hello and thanking you for a wonderful night the other night. It was amazing. _You _were amazing."

"Yeah, it was great wasn't it," he said, giving a slight laugh showing his discomfort.

"Would you like to get together again tonight?"

"I'm busy tonight, actually, could we raincheck?"

"Aww, come on, Boyfriend," she said, leaning up and kissing his neck.

"Boyfriend?" he gulped and dropped his jaw.

"Well, yeah!" she laughed, placing a hand on his arm, "we didn't _just_ have sex. I want to be in this with you. Seth, we are so

great together. I mean, come on, our babies would be so cute."

Seth furrowed his brow before continuing, "well, actually, Emily, that was just sort of a one time thing. I didn't think that we

were going to be, you know, together."

"Seth, sex is a big deal. I just don't let anyone take me to levels like you did. You took me to levels that I have never gotten to

before. I want to get to those again- with you."

'_Oh my god,' he thought to himself and she rambled on about levels. _

"I just, we have such a connection, I don't want to give that up. I know you feel it," she explained, holding her hand over his

heart.

"Emily, why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like, weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah."

"Seth, this is how I am. I am opening up myself to you. I want you to open up to me again. That was the best, most amazing sex I

have ever had with anyone," she whispered, "I want you, all of you, again."

"Emily, I'm really sorry, but you must have gotten the wrong impression, I am not looking for a relationship right now."

"You're not looking for a _relationship_?" she spat.

"Uh, no, I'm not."

"Or are you just not looking for one with me?"

"Well.."

"Well?"

"Oh look at that, Emily, its almost 10:10. I'm late for my ten o'clock."

"This is not over, Seth!"

"See you later," he mumbled before making a bolt for the front door.

---

Summer woke up to the sound of her cell phone alarm going off.

How it was set, she did not know.

She got up from the couch and realized that she must have fallen asleep on the couch.

Her cell phone was still going off when she went to turn it off. Opening her purse, she saw the picture that Kirsten had e-mailed yesterday.

For the first time since she had printed it out, she really looked at it. She saw Sandy and Kirsten for the first time. Kirsten was not at all how she pictured her to be. She had pictured her with dark brown hair and sharp features. But, from this picture, everything she thought that she would be was different.

Kirsten Cohen looked calm. She also looked sad. She was sitting next to her husband and her granddaughter. They looked like the perfect family from the outside. She thought it was amazing how perfect something could seem from the outside, but how much shit there was on the inside.

Next to Kirsten sat Sandy. She realized that she never had really thought about what Sandy would look like. But, he looked happy. He also looked supportive. She wished that her father looked like that when she would see him in pictures. Summer caught herself thinking about her childhood and wondering if there had been anything that she could have done to make it better.

After years of wondering the same questions, she realized that there was no point in trying to think about what could have been. She needed to focus on her future and work on figuring out the rest of her life.

And there she was. Audrey Lena Cohen in all of her glory. Her enormous blue eyes lit up the whole picture and her wavy, long, dark brown hair accented her face. Her smile could be seen from miles away and her two top teeth were missing, showing the black gap between her teeth.

Summer smiled at the expression that was on Audrey's face. Only a child that came from Seth could have an expression like hers.

After looking at the picture for a couple more minutes, she picked up her phone and scrolled to where the Cohen's had called her from.

After pressing the call button and not receiving an answer, she decided that leaving a message was the best option.

After the beep, Summer took a second before saying anything, but once she did, she came out saying, "Hey, Kirsten, it's me, Summer. Just calling you back. I was actually calling to see if there would be some way that Seth and Audrey could meet. You know, maybe you could fly out here or something? I don't know. All I know is that Seth is scared. Please call me back. Bye!"

Summer leaned back against the couch and wondered why she was trying so hard for this. If Seth wanted to meet s daughter, he should be the one to be making these phone calls, not her.

Getting up from the couch, she lifted her shirt above her head and kicked off her sweatpants on the way down the hall to the shower.

By the time she got out, she decided, she would tell Seth about her connections with his mom.

---

Later that night after Summer had taken her shower and blow dried her hair, she heard the front door open and shut with a bang.

Seth had come in and went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the fridge, popping the lid off in one twist.

He went over to the couch and sat down, staring at the wall. His thoughts were still on Emily and he wondered how one night

could screw his unusual friendship up with her.

What had happened was defiantly not something that he planned on becoming involved with. All he was looking for was

someone who wanted him for one night- nothing more.

His fingers swung the bottle back and forth as his head sat in his other hand.

Right now, all he wanted to do was either sleep or pound his head against a brick wall. He chose the first one and started to head for his bedroom when he saw Summer sitting on her bed with a picture in her hand.

He went in quietly and walked over to where she was.

"Hey."

"Oh, Seth! Um, hi. I didn't even see you there," she stumbled, trying to make it not so obvious that she had a picture of his family in her hands.

She tried to casual open the night stand drawer and put it in there, but before she could, he grabbed it out of her hands and asked,

"who are these people?"

Clearly he had not seen the picture yet.

As soon as his eyes hit the picture, his face looked like it had been colored with white crayon and his eyes looked like they had frozen in time.

None of his features moved. No bones in his body moved. Summer didn't even think that his heart was beating.

"Where did you get this from?" he asked her slowly.

"I.. I just.. I.."

"Summer, where did you get this?"

"Seth," she whispered.

"That's my daughter. That's my Audrey, _my _Audrey."

"Yeah, that's her."

"That's my mom. And, and my dad."

Summer shook her head up and down and gave a sad smile.

"Look how big she is. She's seven years old and 8 and a half months today," he told her, his thumb tracing over the picture, "not once have I wished her a happy birthday to her before. I've told her in my thoughts, but never to her."

He didn't say anything for a long time, only letting out the occasional sigh.

"Summer, where did you get this picture? It has to be recent," he asked her again.

"It's a long story actually."

"Just tell me," he said, his voice still calm.

"Your mom."

"What?" he said, his voice level a little bit louder now, "what do you mean, my mom?"

"Your mom, she e-mailed it to me."

"Why in the hell are you talking to my mom?"

"I thought that that is what you wanted."

"You thought? You thought!" he spat.

"Yes, I thought you were just scared. I _thought _you wanted a relationship with your family but you didn't know how to start it!" she said, standing up from the bed.

"If I wanted a relationship, I would have called. But I don't!"

"How can you sit here and say that, Seth? I have listened to they way you talk about them and I know that that is not the way that someone talks about a situation if they didn't want to be in the situation at all. Stop pushing what you want away."

"Again, if I actually did want it, I wouldn't want you to do it for me. I don't know why you insisted on talking to my mom."

"Your scared, Seth, it's okay. Its okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared. I just don't want you in my business."

Summer gasped and started to walk away when Seth grabbed her arm.

"Let go!"

"How long have you been talking to her for?"

"Long enough to know that they all miss you!" she screamed and tore her arm away from him.

"They don't know anything, right. Like where I live and what I'm doing here?"

"They know. I told them, because I knew that you would not make the first move. You know, I found it interesting that I had only

known you for like five days when I did all of this. Out of everyone that I have ever met, you're the only person that I would have done this for."

"No one said you had to do it. Actually, I'm mad at you."

"Oh, you're mad at me? I'm worried now! Fifth grade much, Cohen? Jesus."

"Why the hell did you even call her in the first place?"

"Because!" she screamed, "when I went back with Matt after the snow storm, I promised myself that I was going to do something to help you and that is what I came up with. I remembered some things that you told me about your parents so I got online and looked some things up and then found their phone number. I thought I was doing you a favor."

"All you are doing is causing problems."

"Oh you have _got _to be kidding me. Come on!"

Seth had to admit that Summer looked hott mad. She looked freaking hott.

He did not want to admit it, but fighting with Summer was sort of a turn on. Actually, he had no problem admitting that, so, in light of his new found realization, he decided to make her more mad.

"I slept with Emily."

"You what!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Why in the hell would you do that!? She's a bitch slut hoe bag!"

"She was good. Really good."

The truth of that statement was that Seth really had no idea if she was good or not. He didn't even remember. The only reason he

had told her about Emily was to piss her off and by telling her that she was good, well, that would piss her off even more.

Right about now, anything that would piss Summer off was open territory and Seth was going to use it.

"You are a bastard, you know that!" she yelled as she walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.

"Yeah, I am."

"Ugh! Don't talk to me, don't come near me," she warned, "or I'll kick your ass."

"Why? You don't want Emily's seconds?"

"Seconds? I think Emily had my seconds. I had you first."

Score? Summer, 1. Seth, 0.

'_Damn it, she's right,' he thought._

"Yeah, well, still."

Summer gave an angry laugh and shook her head, "I thought you were different."

"Different how?"

"I thought you were a decent guy. Turns out your just another typical guy who only cares about getting one thing."

"Guess so," he said, inching towards her.

"You're so conceded and I could do so much better than you," she said and caught herself walking towards him as well.

"Then go," he whispered and leaned in and caught her lips in his.

His hands went to the back of her head and her hands went to his back. The kissing intensified and soon Summer was being lifted up on the kitchen counter and wrapping her legs around his waist.

The time came for them to pull away for air.

"Fine," she said, and hopped down from the counter and walked into her room.

Seth's hands went to the counter and he leaned against them.

'_What the hell?' _

He followed her into her room and found her preparing her bed to go to sleep.

"You're so fucking hot and cold. Make up your mind, girl."

"I did, and my minds cold. Good night," she said, and plopped down into bed, her body leaning away from him.

He came over and sat down on the bed and sat there for a minute. Before he could do anything about it, Summer had taken a spare pillow and smacked him in the head.

"What he hell!"

"Get out of my room!"

"Get out of my room!" he mocked right back.

"Oh my god! Get out!" she said, sitting up and pointing towards the door.

Before Summer could react, Seth had taken the pillow that was thrown at him and flipped it over her head, pulling her lips to his

once again.

This time, Summer didn't pull away, but she pushed the pillow away from behind her head and flipped it over her head and over Seth's to his back.

Their kisses were needy and urgent and she moved to him. His legs were over bed so she moved to his lap and wrapped her legs around his waist.

He reached under her to support her and slowly stood up. Her legs tightened around him and he made his way over to the light switch.

"Turning the light off?" she managed to ask, not breaking their connection.

He nodded quickly.

Seth shoved her up against the wall and she jumped, not expecting to collide with the hard, cold wall, but she didn't care. All she

wanted right now was Seth and if it was going to be against a wall, then so be it.

She reached down and took his plain shirt off swiftly, going right for his khakis button after she threw the shirt across the room.

While she was working on his pants, he had somehow managed to get her shirt off, leaving only her bra-clad chest pressed up against his bare one.

Now if this was not a turn on, Seth didn't know what was.

"Faster, Cohen."

Their lips continued to battle, neither knowing who was in control. Summer cocked her head and Seth began to place big, sloppy kisses on her neck. Both not caring if Summer had the biggest hickey in the world the next day.

Summer forced herself to inch up his body, her legs now encasing his upper chest, allowing his kisses to be placed on her chest.

All clothes has been discarded and their bodies were starting to become hot and sticky. Seth wrapped his arms around her back while her hands went through his damp hair. He took her over to the bed and laid her down, him hoovering over her.

He looked at her and smiled.

"I hate you," she said, and leaned up, once again capturing his lips in hers.

And those words were all it took for Seth and Summer to loose thought for one night. They both put other thoughts out of their minds and only focused on the other, both knowing that tomorrow would be coming sooner than they both wanted it to. Tomorrow would mean thought about the future, and the future was not something that either wanted to think about.

The only other noise made throughout the night was the crackling of the fire that had stayed lit from the previous night, but as the night progressed, all noise vanished.

**Hey, guys! So, there it is. I hope you liked it. Can't decide if I like it. Once again, I put a chapter up without it being reread for errors. It's almost one am here and I have school tomorrow. **

**So, this was sort of a filler, sort of not, hahah. I needed a major Seth and Summer hook-up. I was killing myself even though it's only been ten chapters. And they've already made out like three times. Oh well. The beginning was a little slow, but then it picked up. I hope you all enjoyed that Seth and Emily scene. I was actually laughing out loud when I was writing that. I hope you were laughing out loud reading it.**

**Please review. Even if it is a hate review because I haven't posted in forever. Oh, yeah, and in your review, let me know if you are getting sick about hearing about Seth and Audrey and Audrey's mom (she still remains nameless). I feel like Seth talks about that every chapter. Are you getting bored with that? And of course let me know if you want to see anything that I could work in here. Sorry my authors notes are so long!**


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive. I'm sorry if anyone got excited thinking this was an update. Lacrosse for this season is finally over so I have a little free time. Also, there have been some things going on with me that needed some time away from thinking about anything. Everyone has those times where life is hard, and I just got out of it.

We only have 11 more days of school left until SUMMER! So, I will defiantly have more time to write then.

I am really aiming to have a chapter up this weekend, but seeing as how my birthday is on Friday, I may have a little trouble. We do have Monday off, so maybe I can write then.

But, I would love to know if anyone is still reading this, because if no one is, then I won't continue. Please leave feedback if you are.

Again, sorry for making you all think this was a chapter.

Another thing, if you are an author and I usually review on your chapters, I want to apologize for not reviewing. My life has been crazy as of late, so again I am sorry. Right now I think I have like 45 chapters I need to catch up on, so expect a review when I get around to reading them all.


	12. Chapter 12

I just thought that I would give you all a heads up with what is going on! I have been very busy this summer and for the first time in like 6 months, I have officially started a new chapter. I hope that people are still with me and be on the look out for a chapter up within the next couple of days. I appreciate all of your patience and continuous e-mails asking for the story to be continued!

Jordan


	13. Chapter 13

Okay okay okay okay okay okay. I'm not going to sit here and give you a long detailed explanation on why I haven't updated in so long. I am actually afraid to look to see how long ago it was. I am sorry that this is another Authors Note because it is the like third one in a row.

**So, to cut to the chase, expect an update by Sunday night at the latest.**

Anyone still actually out there reading this?

And, thank you tines. Love ya.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am usually very good at writing super long author notes but to spare everyone's time, I will keep it short and not go into all the turn of events that I have experienced. **

**I am terribly sorry for not posting for like 7 months. **

**Please read, review, and enjoy.**

**Love you alllllllll!**

**Oh, and there is some sexual content in this chapter.**

**Chapter 11**

The alarm on Seth's cell phone went of at 3:35 a.m. causing him to stir out of his deep sleep. He looked around wondering where the sound was coming from and as he turned his half opened eyes around, he saw the corner of the room light up in different colors from the cell phone.

The sound of _Ice, Ice, Baby, _rang throughout the silence of the room. Seth smiled as he remembered that he had changed the ringtone on his phone over their small snowed-in stay at his home and Summer told him that it had been her favorite song back in highschool.

Vanilla Ice was so "not out".

He slowly got out of bed and made his way over to the phone and turned the alarm off.

Still having not seen the person lying next to him, he turned over on his side and saw a wide awake someone staring back at him.

He jumped a little in sock and saw Summer's cheek bones raise in signal that she was smiling. Even though the blanket just covered her nose, Seth knew she was smiling.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi," he whispered back.

"So, what's up?"

"So, what are you doing here?"

As he asked what she was doing here, Seth remembered that after Summer and him had shared so much the night before, he had forgotten that little comment that she made that crushed him.

_Summer began getting up from the bed and heading towards the bedroom door without saying one word._

_Seth looked up to her and said, "where are you going?"_

"_Seth, I think it would be better if we slept in different rooms tonight."_

"_Oh," the disappointment seethed off of his face, "I guess that's probably best."_

"_Yeah," she paused, "I guess. Night."_

"... it was too quiet I couldn't sleep. I thought that maybe if I heard you breathing that it would put me to sleep because sometimes breathing helps me fall asleep, but it didn't. Im sorry, I should just go back to my room now..." Summer continued to ramble on.

"No, no," he grabbed her arm as she sat up, "don't go yet."

"Yet?" she tried to playfully ask but it came off more scared.

"At least not tonight."

She looked at him and laid back down on the bed.

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure, anything," she said back.

"You can't always be so vulnerable around me. You know I won't hurt you."

"I'm fine Seth, not vulnerable."

"You don't always have to be so _hard_."

"I wish you could be comfortable around me."

"I am!" she explained, sitting up.

"What. You think having sex with me makes this whole situation more _comfortable_?!" he spat.

"I needed that last night. So did you. It meant nothing!"

Summer covered her mouth after those words came out.

"I didn't mean that-" she trued to explain.

"You've said everything you've needed to say. I can see now that I was just an easy fuck. Got it. No need to explain. No need to make excuses. You can go back to the other room now."

"Seth, I didn't-"

"Don't try and cover it up. It's already out there."

"I'm not going to try and cover something up that I didn't mean."

"Oh really? I don't even want to hear an explanation about what you meant, so don't attempt to try and pull one out."

"I'm not going to _try _and do anything. I'm going to tell you."

"Go."

"Excuse me?"

"I said go. Talk."

"I just meant that I am not really sure what to think about this whole thing. I mean, I come here on vacation with _my boyfriend_, and end up leaving him after I found out he's cheating on me. Then in the process of all of this, I meet you. This totally laid-back person who has consumed my thoughts for the past week. _One week, Seth. _It's just happening so fast and I have no idea what to think about any of it. And then I'm also trying to hold myself together..."

"You need to worry about you. Not me. Not Matt. You."

"I can't only worry about me."

"Yes you can."

"Alright, fine," she said, just agreeing with him so that he would stop pushing her into something

that she knew she couldn't do.

Summer knew that this whole situation was fucked up.But she also knew that she liked this situation.

The feeling that she had right now was one that she never thought she would have. Living on the side of a mountain with a boy that she had known for a week was something that could not have sounded any better to her.

"I think it's time for you to go back to California."

"I don't want to."

"You need to.."

"We are both going through things right now," Summer said, "but we can work them out. I can stay here with you! I want to stay here with you. I've been thinking about it a lot and this is what I want."

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" Seth wondered aloud.

Their eyes locked and they both stared into the depths of each other, trying to find some ray of light that would lead them wherever they were destined to go.

Maybe they were destined for each other. Or maybe it was just each other that would bring them to find what they were actually searching for.

Neither knew the answer to what they were searching for, so Summer just laid her head down in

Seth's lap and looked up at his chin. He was still looking forward but then looked down.

"That still was not a good enough answer," he said, smiling down at her.

"Shut up," she said, reaching her arm up, putting it on the top of his head and pulling it down,

kissing him.

He kissed back with as much passion as he could muster. He pulled away briefly and looked

forward again.

Summer sat up in his lap, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "hey, what's wrong."

"You just confuse the hell out of me."

She kissed him again, "no I don't."

"Yeah, you do," he said against her lips.

"You like the confusion. I do too," she hiked herself up, straddling him, kneeling up, her arms reaching for the top of the headboard that he was currently sitting up against.

Leaning down again into his ear, she put on her most sultry tone, "you want me."

She started rocking her hips when he placed his hands on them.

"No I don't."

"You're confusing me, Cohen," the sultry tone came out playful to her, but so tempting to him.

He moved his head down to her neck and started to massage her collarbone with his lips. She cocked her head up and moaned.

"I don't want to confuse you anymore," his voice sounded like a child.

"That's what I thought," she smiled and continued rocking her hips, her chest in his face. She

looked over and the small fireplace in Seth's room.

The small fireplace flickered with the remaining fire that has been started the night before.

Just wanting to make him suffer for what she was doing to him, she reached down and lifted her shirt off.

It was basically already off with the way Seth had been playing with it for the past ten minutes, so she thought that she would finish the job.

"Why do you do this to me?" he groaned as he undid the drawstring on her pajama pants and inched them down.

As soon as he started this, she moved across him and walked out of the room, leaving him open-mouthed.

He looked at the clock next to his bed.

4:06.

Two minutes later, Summer poked her head back in the door.

"Not even going to come find me after all that?"

"No. Believe me, I was. I was going to give you about one more minute and if you weren't back here, I was going to come out and find you and fuck you on the nearest thing possible."

"Oh, really," she giggled.

"But, you know, since I don't mean anything to you..."

"You know that's not true..."

"I can never be positive," he said, cocking his eyebrow.

"I'm all yours."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Do whatever you want with me."

And that comment was the start to their 4 am encounter.

---

The next morning came quickly and Summer woke up to a naked Seth laying on top of her in front of the fire place.

She wiggled out from under him, causing him to wake up as well.

"Uh, hi," he said.

She giggled, "hi."

"I have to get to work."

"We could act like we were still snowed in."

"We could do that.. But I have an eleven o'clock."

"You better not bring a hot girl back here when you're done. Well, hotter than me, which is, really, near impossible."

"I bet I could find one."

He got up and making his way to the bathroom, stubbing his toe against the bed post.

"Karma's a bitch, babe."

---

Seth left his house twenty minutes later with a mug of coffee in hand and a slid his sunglasses on with the other, making his way to work.

Walking in, he looked at who is eleven o'clock was.

_Olivia Cleary._

'_Another new comer. Should be fun.' he thought._

A blast from the past never hurt anyone, now did it?

**I know, I know. Shortest chapter I have ever written. Most of you are probably thinking what was this chapter even put up for. Truth is, I am going to Aspen tomorrow (hehe, yahoo!) And I just wanted to get something put up for all of you. Despite the fact that this is one of the worst chapters that I have ever written (you could tell me differently, but I won't believe you), I just wanted to set up some definate drama that is coming next chapter. Can you guess?**

**Again, sorry for the length, but at least it's something right :) **

**Please leave me a review.**


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